Shattering Love
by crystalbluefox
Summary: Zoro is afraid of loosing Sanji, after the blond returns back home from a trip in Europe. Sanji has found a new friend, but said person want to be more than just friends, and will do anything to destroy the two's relationship. Are Zoro loosing his blond?
1. Those Sweet Memories

Second Prize Winner at the Collaboration Contest at 'The Yaoi Supernova Author Forum'

WARNING! Story not been beta'ed yet!

_**Disclaimer:**_

_**One Piece is owned by Eiichiro Oda-sensei. All the copyrights associated with One Piece belong to him. Only the ideas contained within this story and some of the characters are the property of the author. No profit is being earned by us, the writers, of this story.**_

**Please enjoy! ~^o^~**

Shattering Love

-A One Piece fan fiction

By

Crystal Blue Fox

And

School Escapee

**1. Chapter **

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**Those Sweet Memories**

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

It was weird how weird feelings could be. This thing that they called _love_could even get completely out of your hands, if you didn't have the mind to control your feelings. But who could control it, when being utterly deeply in love?

He looked up as the heaven opened itself above him and let down the heavy cold rain. Closing his eyes he hummed and enjoyed the cooling sensation against his heated skin. Rain. It reminded him of _him._ It caressed his cheek, snuck under his collar and tickled down his chest and back. It was almost hypnotising to stand there, get deaf by the storm, drenched to his very bones and forgetting everything else there was happening around him. Just like when he was together with his blond. Sanji's hands could be just as caring as the soft summer rain, his legs as harsh as the mighty hurricanes, his laughs just as thrilling, his moans like a dazzling rain and their sex as harsh and soft as a heated storm.

When he told him this, Sanji laughed –funny how much he actually had come to love hearing that sound of his-, kicked him and told him that he was completely out of his fucking mind. Poetry had never been his strong side; he had always been a man showing his feelings and meanings in actions. Sanji had been smiling his cocky smile, back then, motioning him to come and show him what he really meant about him, and them. Zoro hadn't hesitated; licking his dry lips hungrily he had literally attacked the smirking blond like a starving predator attacking its prey. They had kissed, roughly, almost ripped the clothes off each other, mouths attacking skin, tongues licking sweat, breathing in the lust of each other, before Zoro had showed him nirvana.

Yes, Zoro was in love, deeply, if not _madly_in love within Sanji Merbleue*.

A _man_none the less.

He had never once ever _dreamed_about to live the rest of his days together with a _man_, always it had been women, but those relationships had been short-lived or mere one-night-stands. The longest he had with, was with a woman named Nami; a fierce red-haired money-greed woman, who surprisingly enough _did_ have a good heart, deep down inside of her, somewhere. She only showed her feelings for those people she loved and cared for, like her lover, friends and family. Now they were only friends, but both were cool with that.

And then Sanji suddenly had entered his life. He'd never known what tricked him to hate that fierce blond so much; they'd just been at each others throat from the very beginning. Nami once pointed out what it _could_ be, but Zoro immediately killed that idea, called it nonsense and sick, almost disgustingly. She only pulled her shoulders at it, but held onto what she'd said.

Then Zoro had started to really _look_at him, when the man wasn't looking his way and were just being _himself._Sanji had once caught him in looking, and asked what the fuck he was staring at. Then the wind had blown and pulled up his hair. Zoro had have a hard time to shut up, but the laugh-attack came none the less as he saw the _ridicules_curled eyebrows going the same way and not mirroring each other as he had thought.. The blond had turned beat red, almost eaten his glowing cigarette while he kicked the hell shit out of him. Zoro couldn't even chew his food and was damned to eat yoghurt and soups the next two weeks! Later, much later after he had gotten the ability to chew and think without the brain felt like it would explode or goose out of his ears, Zoro realised that it was those he would love the most –but they _still_ did look ridiculous… ridiculous beautiful, no matter how many times the blond man said the opposite.

Slowly, and frightful enough, he realised that the woman had been right all the time. Zoro had immediately done whatever he could to forget, delete, erase those stupid sick thoughts there made him feel almost sick within himself. And then again a part of him didn't care. Not even his hardest muscle-burning training had helped, not even the coldest icy showers in the mornings, afternoons and nights could stop a part of him from rising, whenever seeing that blond in his mind.

It was driving him mad… and then again a part of him didn't care. He swore that that blond would become his death…if not _he_killed _him_at first!

He tried to ignore how the sound of his laugher could warm up his whole body, make his stomach make a flip whenever he saw that smile of his. He tried to hurt himself when he found himself gaping openly at the blond, staring at him as his lips moved over melting ice-cream, one hot summer day, licking it away from his long slender fingers, eating the ice-cream on the most sensual way Zoro ever had seen before. How flabbergasted he had been, watching how he always treated those hands of his, even how he always held his cigarette lazily in his mouth, how those lips hugged the filter while still maintaining to smile that wide smile of his. And then there was his mind-blowing cooking. It should have been forbidden to even being able to cook a meal there'll make you moan in pleasure like you were experiencing the most wonderful sex ever. Zoro had immediately ran out of the house with the whole table full with their friends staring shocked after him, and a cook laughing at him the whole way out. Even when he'd come back home he still could hear that mocking laugh of his.

He _really_hadwhished to die right then and there. Never to be found, just die lonely and rotten away… and then again not.

Zoro tried to stay away from the blond, whenever he saw him come; he immediately went the other way. Whenever he heard that Sanji was coming to a special party or just for a night in town, he immediately found an excuse for not coming along. Sanji soon sensed this absence of his was because of him, and immediately searched him out to confront him. he had never seen the blond that mad before. He had never even seen the blond _using_his precious _hands_ before as he hammered the one fist after the other, taking Zoro by surprise got some well placed hits, while screaming his lungs raw about how he dared to show such a disgust of him. Bad words had hit hard, stupid things had been said and done. Zoro had pushe back, sending the blond over the soda and through the glasstable in front of it. The fight had eveloped from there, and they had almost broken down Zoro's apartment. Neighbours had called the cops and gotten the both of them arrested before they would start to tear down the whole _apartment__complex._

Since then Sanji kept away as well.

It was only then Zoro started to think, long and hard, soon he came to the conclusion that this separation, this no ability to not being able to see the blond, was driving him mad.

One day Nami called in for a party, she didn't take a "no" for an answer, else she would've increase his already high loan _triple_. Against his own will, he came. But apparently the same did Sanji. Not even an hour into the party they were once again on each others throats. They were both send outside before they would make a ruin out of Nami's house.

But something was wrong.

Zoro realised this as they fought. Occasionally a leg would slide up against his own leg, not harming, but caressing, or a hand, his delicate fingers touched his skin just a bit too much at one place or another, lingering just a bit too long. Then their tights accidentally bumped into each other, their lower parts touching each other. But as the blonds' heated breath had bathed his face when they came a bit too close, Zoro couldn't take it any longer and had grabbed the blond, thrown him into the wall, and before any one of them had could protest or think clear about the action, he had shown his tongue down his throat, shutting off the other from speaking. Sanji had stiffened, Zoro, realising what he'd done, barely dared to breath. Now, at any moment he knew, he had known, feared that the blond would soon throw him off, curse at him, beat him, and even spit at his disgusting being for suddenly turning into a filthy faggot, the moment he would return to his senses. Then he realised that Sanji then would leave them again, but this time _forever_. Never returning back, never letting him see him again. The thought alone, he realised, for not ever being able to see the wonderful blond ever again –yes, he _was_wonderful, he couldn't lie about that anymore-, was shattering his heart.

Just there Zoro realised that he hadn't only fallen for the blond, a _man_to booth it too, not only been in love in him, no, he was directly madly, almost sickly in love in the blond man, to the end where one would call it unhealthy and dangerous. He didn't want to be separated from him again, he didn't want his anger but his love, his accept. He wanted to be together with him, hold him, kiss him, be with him, make love with him –his pants had already started to feel too tight then and Zoro had almost turned white as bones from a corpse. He'd never been so scared, fired up, embarrased and horrified all at the same time. His own mind was starting to scaring him off. He begged to that the blond hadn't looked down, or for that sake _felt_his growing member, since they stood almost glued up against each other.

But to his surprise, Sanji did none of what he had feared the man would do. Instead the blond had grabbed his shirt, tossed him around, up against the wall and had deepened their kiss, tongues tasting, searching, exploring his mouth. Sanji was a wonderful kisser there could make his legs melt like butter in the glaring sun. Sanij had pressed on, pressed his own slim body up against his, nudged him to fight back. Zoro's tongue had then moved as well, tasted, explored the others mouth, then they started to fight for dominance, licking, caressing each other lovingly, lips kissing with longing need. When they finally pulled apart, almost out of breath, Sanji had for a moment looked like someone who had been fighting for not to cry, but had then chuckled, blue eyes gleaming with a deep rare happiness, making butterflies flutter in Zoro's stomach, butterflies that Zoro himself _never_would admit out loud that he had, not then, perhabs now. Those strong delicate fingers had run through his short green hair, and then that special smile, which he never had seen before and in the future would make him fall in love in the man all over again, came to life.

"Took you long enough to realise," the blond had whispered and had then kissed him again, this time with more passion. Some when they had wanted more and started to pull at each others clothes to feel more skin, to touch the other more. That had even been the first time when he and Sanji ever had have sex, and he had thanked whatever god there might had been up there in heaven for not letting any of their friends to come out and see if they had killed one another. Zoro could remember their first time as had it been yesterday, the feelings, the smell. The grass had been soft, a bit chilly in the shadow of the house, the sounds of the world around them had disappeared, he only could hear Sanji, his voice, his begs, his lovely moans. His body had been warm, his hair silky, his smell intoxicatingly. His blue eyes shone with lust, the sea inside of them was at the same time heated and calm. They loved, they fucked and they both had been lost it in a world of wonderful sensations, in the backyeard of Nami's hou-

"Hey! Wake up bro! You're stoning again!" He was harshly being ripped out of his daydreaming as his blue haired colleague pushed him so hard just to tease him, that he almost fell first head into the mud.

"T-the heck, Franky?" he almost stuttered, completely startled and cursed the growing feeling in his pants. Fuck! It wasn't any good idea to think about the blond and their sex when being at work.

Franky only laughed at the youngster's surprised look, and pointed over his shoulder with a thumb.

"Boss said that we have to finish our job, if we don't want to get drowned in the upcoming storm."

Zoro looked sceptically at the large man beside him. "Arent _you_the boss here?" Franky, who was the boss of the lumberjack corporation together with his brother Iceburg, blinked at him, then realised something and bellowed a big loud laugh, as he clapped his friend on the back, this time the smaller man slipped and lost his footing, the axe landing only a few inches from cutting his ear off.

"I almost always forgets that, when bro Iceburg are the one doing the papers!"

Zoro sputtered and almost gagged when the mud got down his throat. "YOU _FUCK-HEAD!_ WILL YOU WATCH IT, MAN! Urgh, gharg, bwadr!"

"Hey hey! How are you talking to your _boss,_ huh?"

"Fuck you!"

Franky only laughed and pulled up the sputtering man from the mud.

"So, you'll be back next year too?"

Zoro didn't look up from examining the blade of the axe, "Dunno, don't think so. I'll be off doing something else." Franky nodded knowingly, and watched as the much younger man cut through the tree.

"You up for some beer tonight?" The younger man halted, thought about it and then shook his head.

"Got work to do tomorrow morning." He grabbed tighter around the shaft, as the axe's blade cut through the big tree's thick branches like a knife through cheese. The wood barely managed to splinter. They only needed to cut down a few more trees, then they would be done and out of here.

"Hey kid, don't strain yourself too much." Franky said as he laid a hand on the younger man's shoulder, and then lowered his voice, so no one else could hear them, though it was already hard enough to hear one another this close when raining so much "He might be a great man and all that, but is he really that much worth sacrificing so much for? Remember; you're only a human." Zoro didn't listen; he didn't want to, they'd have this conversation too many times to begin with already. Franky sighed as he didn't get any response, he patted his shoulder as he turned around and left him be. When the large man was gone, Zoro's thoughts were once again at a certain blond. He cut another branch off, twice this time to get through the stubborn tree. Two days. Only two days more, and then _he_would come back home. His smiled widened and he cut off the last branch off the tree.

SL-SL-SL-SL

His whole body shook as he let out a loud laugh, making the man opposite him laugh even more.

"_Du__skojar__fan__med__mig,__right?_"** **-**_**You**__**'**__**re**____**fucking**____**kidding**____**me,**____**right?**_ Sanji Merbleue, a young blond half Swedish, half French man in his mid-twenties, chuckled. He threaded his fingers through his hair and grabbed it tight, as would the motion stop him from laughing too much. He had been back visiting his homeland, Sweden, for some Cooking Contest that he had been picked out to be one of the judges for, and to have some Cooking classes with some wanna-be-cooks. Mostly ladies entered, and even so that he would have been flattered, it hurt him deep down to his very bones how horrible those delicate hands handled their utensils and the cooking ingredients. It was pure horror, so terrifying that he literally had caught himself in wanting to kick one of those women or yell at them. He was a _gentleman_for crying out loud, and gentlemen didn't lay a hand, _nor_raised their voices towards a lady. Way too often he had to break up, leave them to themselves with excuses that he needed some air, or didn't feel all too well.

Zoro would have been on his throat if he had known how many cigarettes he had smoked on just one day, yet alone two freaking _months._ The man was sometimes too much of a hypocrite, but who could blame him, when he had first handed lived and seen his own father die of a lung cancer, caused of the same things the blond chef put into his mouth every freaking day? No wonder that he had been so bitching about them. That was why he had tried to level down to only a half pack a day… unfortunately he had been thrown back in to smoke two packs a day, ever since he stood as a teacher in front of such… _people_. There hadn't been anything else other than those sticks to occupy his lonely mouth with, in all that time.

He hadn't realised that he had lit himself yet another one before it came just into his view. He stared at the smoke tangling delicately around his hand, rising up and disappear into the very air they breathed in. After almost being hypnotised, and not even remembering what they had spoken about just two seconds ago, he crushed the cigarette into the ashtray in front of him, wincing a little as there had been a bit more than a half of it left.

First thing when he got back home was to take _'__en__kold__tyrker__'_ as those Danish called it, a cold turkey, meaning cutting off harshly, no smoking anymore. He gulped at the mere thought of it. Zoro better had to appreciate that, because now he had to occupy his mouth with something else. Just the thought of it made Sanji smirk and lick his already lonely lips.

The black haired freckled man sitting opposite him looked rather shocked, as he saw the blond Swede killing one of his lovely cigarettes so violently. An amused smile threatened to appear on his lips.

"_At__jeg__nogenside__skulle__leve__til__at__se__dig__slukke__en__halv__cigaret__… __det__må__være__et__historisk__øjeblik!__" __-__**That**____**I**____**ever**____**should**____**live**____**to**____**see**____**you**____**put**____**out**____**a**____**half**____**cigarette**__**… **__**it**____**must**____**be**____**a**____**historical**____**moment!**_Said the raven, eyes wide, honestly surprised. Sanji groaned and told him to shut the fuck up, not caring that he had turned over to his American language again, but his friend had only chuckled and clasped his shoulder a bit too hard. The blond glared at him, but couldn't keep his anger on him for too long at a time. Ace, as this man's name was, was a fire worker, born in Italy, raised in a place called *'_Holsterbro__ –_where the heck _that_now where-, and had come to Sweden to have vacation with his energetic little brother. They had been living on the same hotel, almost next doors. Could have said that it was his _dearest_little brother who brought them to know each other, as the monkey had raped his room for anything eatable at all. Who know where he was now? The bar they were sitting at wasn't that far away from the restaurant, and he hadn't heard the cooks in the kitchen yell and curse at someone… _yet_!

"_Så,__to__dage?__" __-__**So,**____**two**____**days?**_ the raven asked before gulping down the rest of his _Captain__Morgan_.

Sanji smiled at him, holding up his own glass high. _"__Yups!__Två dagar och dä har jag min röv långt härifrån.__" __-__**Yups!**____**Two**____**days**____**and**____**then**____**I**____**got**____**my**____**ass**____**far**____**away**____**from**____**here.**___And with that said he chucked down the drink, feeling the alcohol burning its way down his throat -no wonder that Zoro liked these-, and hammered it down onto the bar to punctuate his words. Damn, he might have been around the swordsman far too long; now he even was _acting_like him when he wasn't around. There could only be one explanation for that.

_I'm drunk!_

SL-SL-SL-SL

It was Saturday, and as normal in an airport, it was busy. People almost jumped on each others shoulders; pushed, showing each other away, just to be the ones standing in front of the crowd to meet their family or friends with open arms. Zoro choose not to be mashed like a potato and placed himself at the exit, arms crossed, legs too, tired eyes scanning over the place for a golden top of hair for soon to arrive among all the other heads. The loudspeaker buzzed, telling that the plane from Hamburg just had landed, people crowded even more, if possible, around the entrance where the travellers would come.

Then the steam came. You could hear them before you even could see them; voices, footsteps, rolling suitcases and children screaming and laughing. Then the voices got louder as the awaiting people saw those who they had come to pick up, and even from this distance, Zoro was close to be knocked down as many more people filled the hall. A thick man with a large beard, who almost had knocked the young man to the ground, filed away as he reserved a dangerous growl and a glare from said man. His thin woman, whom apparently had been there to pick up her husband, whistled through her nose how rude young people these days were.

Well of course.

Should just let yourself being pushed, smacked and hit, for then to apologize for the _older__generation_to stand on the wrong side of them.

Yes, yeah and Amen.

Fuck them!

"Oh, you're _that_happy to see me again, huh?" He looked up when he heard the too familiar voice. Dropping his jaw as he tried to say something, he instead ended up with just staring into that magnificent ocean-blue eye, there looked back tired, almost annoyed at him. His heart made a flip. Even as the blond was exhausted from the travel, clothes a bit in disorder, hair tousled just a little, he still looked damn hell sexy. He barely realised that he was glaring, before Sanji pointed that fact out. "Stop glaring a hole already, you just scared a kid away, you know." Zoro blinked, then pulled a menacing smile.

"Good, can't have kids watching, now can we?" Sanji raised a brow as the man before him motioned him to come closer, seeing that smile grow even wider, he almost had an idea of what thoughts went through that thick skull.

"What the heck you talking about, moss-head? Turned senile in the meantime I was gone?" He stepped closer though. Zoro looked down at the suitcases in his hands.

"Let me look at those suitcases,"

Sanji's brows almost hit his hairline. "Suddenly got a fetish for suitcases?"

"Just move them up a little so I can read what they say,"

The blond furrowed his brows "You _have_ gotten senile in the meantime," but none the less moved the suitcases up so the other could see. Zoro watched them, then stopped the hands from moving any further up as the suitcases reached their hips. Before the blond could ask about anything else, he moved his one hand up behind the smaller man's back to pull him closer, as the other hand searched down to cup his groin.

"AAH?" People turned around to see what the sudden scream was about. Sanji turned beat red as he saw strangers watching them, and tried to help himself out. "Ah y-you got to be kidding me!" he made a nervous chuckle, and choked a second moan there threatened to release, as the hand down below literally moulded his dick through his pants. He moved a knee up to stop him, to push him away, but with no such luck.

"No, not kidding at all, cook," though it should have been impossible, Zoro's sick smile widened, as he both clapped his back friendly –making people turn them their back, thinking it just were two friends fooling around- and grasping the blonds' lower parts in a fiercer grip.

Sanji swallowed, then glared at him. "We're in public," he whistled through his clenched teeth.

"So? No one can see it," he pointed out; nodding down to the suitcases in the blonds' hands, there blocked the sight from the most of the world.

Sanji swallowed again as he felt his pants tighten. "Stop it!" he whispered, as he saw a mother with two kids watching them with suspicion.

The green-haired man leaned in close to whisper the blond back into his ear, whom literally shivered as his breath bathed his ear "Beat me," with that said he released him and turned on his heel, leaving a cursing blond behind his steps, who almost fell from the sudden loss.

The two men strolled out to their awaiting car; a blue Nissan Qashqai. It was actually Sanji's own car, since the blond didn't dare to place his foot inside of Zoro's old junk. He would like to live many more years, he once had told him, instead of ending life in a rusty box there barely could manage to keep itself together. Zoro loved his old Ford Mustang; it was a good car with a history in itself, a legend, and it wasn't unstable or rusty, he _did_know how to keep his car up-to-date, safe and clean, thank you very much!

They threw the baggage in the back. Getting into the car, throwing a quick glance around to assure that no one was in the near to look their way, Sanji grabbed the man's jacket and yanked him in to a passionate longing kiss, before the other barely made to close his own door. Zoro snorted into the kiss, amused by the rough treatment, but responded none the less, opening his mouth for the other to explore, letting him memorize the knowing place.

"You're a fucking teaser, marimo," the blond panted as they parted, their foreheads leaning against each other. Zoro's brow moved up.

"_Marimo_? Is that my new nickname, shitty cook? Should I feel offended?" Sanji chuckled.

"Who's the one to feel offended here?" he gave him a teasing hit to the shoulder "You decide,"

"Hmm," the green-haired man hummed, nuzzling his nose against the blonds', while he brushed his lips just barely touching the needing lips of the other, and whispered in a deep voice, that always sat Sanji's mind on fire. "I think I'll let you slip with a warning, cook," he said and caught the lips in a heated kiss.

Moaning loudly as that wonderful tongue pressed its way into his mouth, the blonds' fingers worked over the others chest, up to his shoulders, pulling him flush against him, feeling the others muscled chest against his own slighter frame. Sanji sighed in pure delight. He breathed in the familiar scent that he had missed so much, wished for in so many nights if he just could have fallen asleep to that addicting scent of pure Zoro… falling asleep into his naked chest with his strong arms around him. To hell with how gay he was sounding like right now, if anyone had dared to point out _how_gay he was acting or thinking like sometimes, he would have killed them right on the spot.

Sanji loved this man, deep into his very soul, and wasn't ashamed of it, just a bit… _careful_of speaking it out loud, since not many people that they knew of, could accept their _love_ to each other. Some even found it rather disgusting. Sanji too had once been one of those who thought the same. The mere idea of two men being together had always crept the hell shit out of him and making him almost gag at it… that was, until he met a certain green-haired stubborn oaf, there both could make his blood boil in anger and piss him off like no one ever have been able to, but at the same time making his heart flutter when looking into those dark eyes, and his pants extremely suffocating to be in.

Zoro had been an overwhelming personality. He was strong due to that he was training so much, a man there always had the most 'heaviest' of jobs. No rich ass, but he was rich in his love and caring for his friends, there meant the world to him. He always took good care of them, protected them, but would kill the man who dared to refer _him_to be _nice_. Sanji did that once, when he caught the oaf in one of his secretly hiding moments, when he actually helped someone outside a street-fight. Zoro even had freaking _blushed_ at the thing being found out by even _him_, then a second later they had been at each others throat. One time had been extremely bad when Sanji had seen one of Zoro's rare happy smiles, there didn't include him in smiling satisfied after beating someone to a pulp, the situation to that smile he didn't really remember, but he remembered that Zoro had laughed too, and that had made something flutter inside of the blond. To rub that feeling away, he even had told the green-haired man that he had looked _cute_. That word had almost sent the blond to the hospital. Good thing that they had a doctor among their friends. But that didn't mean that Zoro didn't get badly hurt as well, after Sanji with a satisfied smirk had succeed in breaking one or two bones in the man's body.

Who should have known that those two, two completely straight men, one day, would sit in a car, hiding from the rest of the world, hearts beating in sync, and kissing each other with big need and lust, like there were no tomorrow?

Sanji chuckled just at the mere thought of it and pressed on, wanting to explore the other's mouth as well. Their tongues touched, caressed against each other, licking each lips, searching for every part to taste, longingly, needing, and then Zoro finally opened his mouth for him to enter. He sighed, the fingers released the tie to thread through strands of blond hair instead, and deep dark eyes closed to enjoy the wonder of his blond kissing him. God, he had missed this man so much. Two freaking months was inhumanly long. He would never figure out how soldiers could leave for _months_from their love and family, to go into war, and maybe never return back. It was cruel, actually, if you thought about it.

Asking Sanji himself, he wouldn't abandon his family, friends and love to go into war for his country. He would rather stay at his _family__'__s_ side, and fight his own war to protect them, and to make them happy, even if _that_would have become his death. You could call him a traitor for his country, he wouldn't care, and he wouldn't even do it for Sweden. No one had ever done anything for him, beside the man he loved, and his friends and the old man he called his 'father'.

And he knew that Zoro was just the same; Not a man for entering the war for his country, only a war to protect his friends in the _near_of them, just to make sure that they were safe.

Sanji panted, completely out of breath as they pulled apart. He stared into those warm brown eyes, those mysterious eyes there always had captivated him, looking at him as he did just now, always made his heart flutter. Adding in the soft smile there now grew on this man's lips, always made Sanji fall in love in him, all over again. A smile he would fight for to see as often as possible, though he never would admit that out loud.

"Hi!" came the innocent greeting from the muscled man.

Sanji chuckled, running his fingers through soft strands of green hair, and smiled back. "Hi!" it was sweet how cute this oaf could be sometimes, when you last expected it.

"Missed ya,"

He placed a quick kiss on the corner of the others lips, and squeezed his cheek.

"Missed ya too, _Marimo_."

SL-SL-SL-SL

It had only been a month and six days since Sanji returned back home. It was disturbingly how accurate he counted every single day, hell, even the hours and minutes! He had counted every freaking day when Sanji had been in Europe, and now he counted the days since he returned back home, almost like he feared that the blond would travel away again really soon, and the counted days then would match up higher than the days he wasn't there… or something like that. Even Zoro himself couldn't understand his own way of thinking sometimes.

He knew that if he had told Sanji about this disturbing side of him, the blond might have reconsidered sending him to the lunatic-department.

Zoro chuckled just by the thought of it, earning a weird look from said chef there sat right next to him with a beer in his hand. He turned to face the blond man with a broad smile, and moved a hand up to thread his fingers through those soft golden strands. He was so beautiful that it was impossible not to love him. Sanji quirked a brow at him, and widened his visible eye as he saw how close the man was getting to him.

"We're in public," he whispered nervously. This time it was Zoro's turn to quirk a brow, temptingly.

"So?"

Sanji tried to think, those soft lips was getting closer to his.

"We're in public," he repeated, his brain not able to think coherently when the others heated breath bathed his face and send shivers through his whole body. Zoro chuckled, his lips brushing against his as he spoke.

"You already said that, stupid,"

"People-" '_can__see__us_' was what the blond would have said, but was cut off as those intoxicatingly lips pressed softly against his in a gentle kiss. He gasped by the sudden move, and was immediately being invaded by Zoro's tongue, there wouldn't let him have time to think just a bit straight. Zoro would normally never do this, not when people were around them, where other people could _see_them. He had always been a careful man about their love in public, which was why it shocked the hell shit out of the blond when said man kissed him, not giving a shit to the world and its weird stares at them.

'_Well,__there__went__the__secret__blowing__to__hell,_' he thought, and tried to push the other away as he saw Nami turning around to face them, staring with them with a disbelieved stare, though she was one of those few who _knew_about them.

"Zoro, not here," he tried to say, while pushing the muscled man away from him. Zoro groaned in return, wanting to stay where he was. People started to react, as they confused saw Nami's staring face in the other direction, and slowly turned around. "Move it!" he said panicked, and since the other didn't do a try to move away, Sanji did the only thing he could think of, and stepped down hard over his one foot.

That had worked.

Zoro wheezed and cursed under his breath as his head made contact with the table instead, just in time as the others now looked their way, and grabbed his sore foot, while glaring up at the blond. Said blond licked his lips, his eyebrows furrowed.

"The hell was _that_for?" the green-haired man wheezed at him, still cursing under his breath about his foot being broken or something.

"You're drunk," he said barely loud enough for the two of them to hear "you never get drunk,"

Zoro snickered; chin resting on the cool wooden table. "So, what if I am?"

"The hell is wrong with you? You've acted so weird lately, doing things you normally never would do. Getting drunk to Vivi's party is _not_a thing you normally would do," He wasn't angry when he spoke to him, only disappointed by his lovers doing. Zoro had acted weird lately, more daring with their relationship, since he had come back home, like… well, he couldn't put a finger on it, but it was like he was afraid of _something_and it was worryingly.

"Sanji-kun? Would you mind to make the dinner?" the blond princess, as she only could be described as being, called at him. "The grill's heated up just enough as you said it should be!"

"Just a minute, Vivi-dear!" he called back at her, flashing her one of his warm smiles. Then he looked down worried at the mess of his lover, who sighed heavily.

"Zoro-"

"I'm sorry," the other breathed out, "Fuck, I'm sorry. The hell went into me?"

"Alcohol, too much of it, you oaf." he slapped him teasingly over the head, as he registered that Zoro was pulling himself together now, then tousled his hair, earning a growl from him. Sanji chuckled and stood up to leave. "Need to make us some food. Want me to make you some marsh meet?"

"Fuck you!"

The blond chuckled again, he loved teasing him. He stroked his bare neck with a single finger, as he stepped around him, and squeezed his shoulder just a little "I'll be back right after" he then said, and left him.

Zoro watched the blond as he ran up to the awaiting ladies, phrasing them before he started to grill the spiced food, he already had prepared before the grill had been started. Sanji chuckled at something they where speaking about, it was a nice sound listening to, his laugh. His smile was lovingly. Zoro's heart made a little jump, as said blond turned just enough to flash it his way, without anyone else noticing it. He smiled back, but dropped it as soon as the blond head turned away. The guilt for his action almost choked him. Sanji was right; normally he never would have got himself this drunk, and he normally never would kiss him in the public. Some people hated it, and he would never forgive himself if anyone outside of their 'group' found out, and started torturing them with threats, abusing of their apartment or cars, being stalked on the streets, yelled at and crap like that. He _never_would let Sanji experience such cruelty. He had seen the horror there could happen, and it wasn't a nice sight, even though that they were living in freaking 2011.

So why had he slipped this time? There was only one name popping up in his head as in answer, and it made him groan in annoyance.

Ace D. Portagas.

Ever since Sanji had returned back home, he had talked about this man almost none-stop, like he was some kind of an idol or such. And somehow that name made his alarm-clocks go crazy.

A man and a beautiful looking woman sat down at the other end of the table he sat at. They greeted him happily and Zoro was polite enough not to growl at them, and mumbled somewhat of a greeting back, before the two of them went into a conversation of their own. Zoro laid his arms on the table, chin propped up by one hand, as he tried to solve what it was his mind was trying to tell him, as he stared intensely at his blond there stood by the large grill in the backyard of their old friend Vivi's house, chatting and laughing with the host and several others. From what he could hear even from this distance, the blond was once again telling excited about this freckled man.

"…honestly, the one time I really thought the man was dead. Right in the middle of his _Sunday__Chops_he dropped his head into it, fast asleep. It freaked the hell shit out of me!" he flipped a beef on the grill, then another one as he told on "And then he suddenly just wakes up and eats like nothing ever happened, food all around on his face. Really, that man can eat like there's no tomorrow, only outdone by his younger brother, who got a stomach like an empty pit."

They laughed, not aware of that a certain green-haired man didn't find it funny at all. None realised with how much passion the chef talked, when talking about that man. Zoro growled, and moved up to leave, feeling just a bit tipsy and unsteady on his legs, as he walked away from there, needing some fresh air, despite that they already _was_outside, and some alone-time to think. None really gave him any attention, except a certain red-haired woman, who looked worried after her friend over her shoulder.

SL-SL-SL-SL

"You missed out the big party, oaf," A click of a lighter sounded in the darkening world. Zoro didn't have to turn around to know who it was, there plumped down beside him on the grass. A plate was placed in between them with two large warm burgers on it. He answered him with an uninterested grunt, and stared back up at the lake and the forest there decorated the landscape behind their friend's family mansion. He could feel the chef's eyes on him, searching, looking for some evidence on what was wrong. "You okay?" Had he really looked like someone who wasn't okay? No, it was just the cook who was good at reading his face.

"Just needed some quiet time,"

"For a whole three hours?" the blond asked, eyeing the empty cans of beer around his lover with a sceptical but worried look. He had been drinking again. '_Why?_'

"Two and a half," he corrected him, almost in a whisper. Sanji groaned at the seemingly childish answer.

"Doesn't matter shit! What matters is, that you weren't there, and I, sort of… missed ya,"

"Oh?" Zoro raised a brow, and looked straight into the one single visible eye "Looked for me like you had a damn good time; chatting and laughing about your dearest friend there."

"Who?" Sanji asked, truly confused. Zoro rolled his eyes.

"That Ace-guy," he said, throwing his hand to the side, like wanting to throw the subject out the window as well.

"When the hell have he become a _dearest__friend_to me?" the chef said annoyed, taking a drag on his second cigarette of the day, "I've just said that he's a good friend, that's all,"

"Sounded to me like you where about to get engaged,"

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa!" The blond protested, waving his hands in front of himself to stop the man in his one-sided-track "Where the hell did _that_now come from? You completely out of your mind? I _said_he's a good _friend_! What the fuck, Zoro?"

"Well, how should I know?" he snapped, anger growing in his guts, as he turned fully around to face the blond. "You're babbling about him the whole damn time anyway!"

"I do _not_! That's bullshit!" Sanji said furiously. Not aware of that he was raising his voice. But Zoro had seemingly only got started on the yelling part as well.

"Hell you do! You almost don't speak about anything else but that freckled idiot!"

"He's _not_an idiot, well yes, but not like that! Ace is a really good friend, and I know that you would have said the same if you knew him well enough!"

"Like hell I would! I don't walk around talking about people like I've been fucked by them!"

_SMACK!_

Sanji was none to ever use his hands in a fight; he treasured them well too much to mistreat them like that, because if harmed, he would not be able to cook. Therefore as it _was_a hand there smacked the green-haired man directly in the face, he couldn't stop himself from staring shocked up at the man he loved so much, who now stood above him, hands closed into fists, his whole body trembling in anger, as he stared furiously down at him.

"Don't ever, and I repeat," he said in a dangerous low voice, and then raised it in a roar, not caring a shit about that the people from the party behind them might would be able to hear him "_EVER_ talk like that I've been cheating on you,_Zoro__Roronoa_! 'Cause then you're _fucking__out__of__your__freaking__mind_!"

His fingers heaved over the abused place where the blonds' hand-print without any mistake was, but didn't touch the stinging flesh. Guilt suddenly flushed through him, and almost choked him. He looked down, ashamed, and breathed out heavy.

"I'm sorry," what right _did_ he have to accuse the one he loved so much, to directly cheat on him? Didn't he trust the blond enough to know that he _never_would do such a thing? The hell went into him? _'__Alcohol,__too__much__of__it,__you__oaf.__' _he heard the blonds' earlier words repeat in his mind. "I'm sorry," he repeated, more ashamed than ever. Sanji nodded, without no doubt feeling hurt in his pride for being thought of like that.

"You should be," he whispered around his cigarette, and killed the rest of the cancer-stick under his sole. He sat down, shoulders sunk, arms laying lazily over his bend knees, as he stared in the direction his lover had been staring at just seconds ago… or was that minutes? He glanced his way, feeling a bit guilty from even slapping him over the face, but the moss-head had no rights to accuse him for such things. "Hey," he said, trying to make up the mood again, and pushed him lightly with his shoulder "stop giving me that beaten puppy-face, and eat your food before it'll get too cold." Zoro only made a noise in answer, still ashamed like hell, and Sanji hated the situation for ever happening, as the man took up his one burger and bite in it. After his third mouthful he first started to speak again.

"It's good," he said around a mouthful of meat, vegetables, cheese, bacons and bread. Sanji flashed him a smile.

"I know, right?"

Zoro chuckled, "Smug bastard,"

Sanji laughed heartedly, it was hard to be mad at this man for too long at a time.

"Touché!"

This, though they were on good tracks again, was the first time ever since that they had been in a relationship together, that they've been in a fight like this; bitching, yelling… Sadly enough it would not even be their last, and Zoro knew it, before the times ever would come and show it up in his face. He already knew that he had lost, but refused to believe it, and kept on fighting.

SL-SL-SL-SL

For the first two weeks, Sanji barely spoke about his so called friend, and sometimes didn't even mention him at all. Zoro had felt relieved; things had even come back to normal like they never had been _having_that fight at all at Vivi's place. But three weeks after their fight, Sanji got a call from the last person Zoro ever wanted to know of. It was Ace. Apparently they had been sharing phone numbers as well, but it sounded weird that they only now would be talking with each other, after such a long time. Sanji told him that it was because of that the man had been hospitalized for a pretty damn long time, after some kind of an incident at work for about one and a half month ago. Cell phones weren't allowed in the hospitals, and Ace hadn't remembered his number either so he couldn't call him.

Oh, so they _had_been texting each other before then? Well how come that the blond had not told him about that? But then again; Sanji's friendships were his own business, and Zoro had no right to interfere in Sanji's private life... except if it was about cheating.

'_Whoa__stop!__Where__the__hell__did__THAT__suddenly__come__from?_' Zoro thought horrified, as he sat in the sofa, looking on his blond who stood with his cell phone between his chin and shoulder while cooking, chatting with the fire worker happily. He only had some grey sweatpants on and his favourite pink apron with a panda on the front. It looked weird, but sexy as well. Sanji laughed into the phone. '_Why__the__hell__do__I__keep__on__worrying__about__Sanji__and__that__Ace-guy?__It__'__s__not__like__he_is_...__he__just__like__that__guy...__just__like__me__and__Chopper;__we__'__re__only__friends,__so__stop__worrying__so__much__and__getting__stupid__thoughts__like__that!_'

"Oi, Zoro! Come over here," the blond suddenly said. Zoro raised a brow.

"What?"

"Ace wants to talk with my envious friend,"

"I... wha... you... I am NOT jealous!" Sanji chuckled and reached the phone towards him, while stirring around in the frying rice.

"Sure you're not, just take the phone and say 'hello', or something. Don't worry little marimo, it wont bite 'ya,"

There sounded a chuckle from the phone. "_Marimo?__What__'__s__that?__A__lover__'__s__phrase?_"

Zoro immediately hated him all over again, and grabbed the phone with such a force, that he almost broke it. For _that_ he reserved a kick straight into his guts, so when he spoke into the phone, his voice sounded rather squeaky.

"_Hilloh?_"

"_Ah, Mr. Marimo, I presume? What's that? You sound like you've just been kicked in the balls?"_

'_Whad__'__ya__know?__The__man__is__even__psychic!_'

"Ah," He held his hand over the speaker and cursed at the blond, who had a bright toothy smile plastered on his lips, and blew him a kiss. Zoro made a motion to grab after him, but the blond was faster to get out of his reach, second try his hand was slapped with a spatula, and on his third try where he was starting get a bit pissed, the blond just literally bend so far down backwards, that it even hurt in Zoro's back to watch him do that. Sanji only laughed even more, and made a sign for that _he_had 'won the fight'. Zoro rolled his eyes, and mouthed without a word, that he didn't want to speak with the man, or rather, didn't know what the hell to say, since the man already had fallen into a conversation with himself.

Sanji pushed the phone far enough away from them, so he unheard could whisper with a dangerous sugar-sweet voice –Zoro hated when the blond spoke like that, because when he did, it meant that he was walking on deep waters- that if he wouldn't soon stop being such a baby about certain stuffs and grow some balls and talk with Ace, well, then there would be _no_sex, or anything referring to it, for the next one and a half _month_! That meaning not even a kiss was allowed, barely touching each other. The killer-look pointed out that he was deadly serious about it, and Zoro knew that he was under the blonds' mercy. He pulled the phone to his ear and spoke with much dismay and sending glares towards the smirking blond, who started on his cooking once again, happy about his second victory of the day. Damn, the cook was toying with him, that bastard.

But… if he had to be honest with himself, though Ace did sound to not be such a bad person to talk with as he first had assumed, there was still something deep inside of him there roared up that something wasn't right here, that he should be aware of… something, but he dismissed it right away and fought to convince himself that it was just him being stupid again.

He spoke with him -what, a five minutes?- before he cut the man off. He had been standing and watched his chef working in his truly element, entranced by his movements, charmed by his humming tones to a happy song as he tossed the food up in the air in a way that only he could do it, making it all landing back into the pan again. Then he turned around to cut some vegetables, his movements was like a dance, making his floating hair shine like white gold as the sun's rays fell on it, and make small pearls of sweat glitter on pale skin as well. The blond was completely entranced in his cooking, smiling as he enjoyed what he was doing. He always did. Sanji had once told him that, and Zoro loved watching him in this calm form, while making his creations in his sanctuary. Placing the phone on the countertop, he tiptoed over to said chef to go grab around his thin but muscled body.

"I'm cooking," he said, though there wasn't much irritation in the words, there really _wanted_him to back away. Zoro hummed in answer, and just pressed himself even more up against the blonds' back. He loved to just stand like this, leaning his head on his shoulder to look down on his working creations. It was calm, relaxing to just stand there, and luckily Sanji didn't mind that, he even sometimes walked around in the kitchen with his living hanging plant in tow, and only kicked him out of his kitchen when he started to lay more of his heavy weight onto him, or just became too annoying to have hanging around.

"Ya know?" said hanging plant whispered teasingly into his ear, it was hard to keep his hands off him any longer, Sanji was a teaser, even when not wanting to be, and started nipping the blonds' ear "You look just so damn _sexy_like that," Sanji snorted.

"Its damn hell hot today, moss-head, so stop fucking –aah!" a hand had sneaked up underneath his apron and down in to his pants to caress his manhood, while a hungry mouth kissed from his ear and down along his throat. It was getting harder to keep his concentration on his cooking, and for safe he turned down the heat. Zoro chuckled while licking a trail of sweat away, sending shivers through Sanji's whole being.

"It's a freaking ten degrees today, you crazy cook. It's autumn, not summer."

"So? M'still hot!"

"Hell yeah you are," Zoro said and turned the chef around, the blond hair danced along in the air, letting him see the oh so forbidden hided blue eye. "You. Are. So. Damn. Hot. And sexy." He whispered against the blonds' lips, pulling him flush against him. Red was already colouring the slender man's pale cheeks.

"Shut uuup, not what I meant," the chef said, his voice raspy and slightly breathless, lips brushing against lips as he spoke, voice filling with desire. He stretched an arm out to turn off the heater so the food wouldn't get burned, and turned them both so his back hit the edge of the counter opposite where the food where, and smirked "but you're damn straight right, about _that_,"

Zoro chuckled "Damn arrogant idiot," and closed the space between their lips. He felt the slender arms wrapping themselves around his neck and pulling him in closer to the kiss. He wrapped his fingers more around the man's slowly awakening arousal and kept molding it, making the blond breathe heavy warm air into their sloppy needing kiss.

"Dinner's done," the chef panted with a raspy voice, as they pulled apart to get air. Zoro once again nipped his ear, still molding the now stiff length. The blond laid his head back, panting up in the air, and moaned as Zoro went down his throat once again, who knew his sensitive places of where to be licked. Just as he had foreseen it, said person shivered as he ran his tongue right under his jaw, nipping his Adam's apple as well.

"Hmm," Zoro hummed and rose up to meet his heated eyes "then can I have the dessert at first?" he removed his hand from the pants and lifted up the blond to good naturally point out what dessert that he meant. Long slender but strong legs wrapped themselves around his torso, arms laying lazily on his shoulders, as the blond chuckled lightly and nipped at his lip, sucking on it.

"You'll pay for this later, moron, for letting the food getting cold."

Zoro hummed again by the sound of the desired panting voice, as he moved the apron a bit aside and hooked his thumbs on the waistline of the others sweatpants, while kissing down his pale, smooth neck. Breathing in the heat of Sanji's clean skin, the scent made Zoro's heart pound even faster and made all the blood in his body rush to one destination; down south. He tasted the creamy skin, warm musk with a hint of salt.

Sanji sighed, feeling his blood rush through his body, the sound pounding loud in his ears. He grinded his hips towards the iron-worker, hurrying him to take off his pants, he wanted him… no… that was a complete wrong word… he _needed_him right here and now. His hot mouth travelled back up his throat, giving his Adams apple a single suck and a lick, before tasting his way up to his jaw, kissing his little beard, the saliva making it wet. He shuddered as the other breathed at the wet hair and skin, feeling all at the same time the thumbs hanging loosely in the waistline of his pants, slowly pulling the clothes down his hips along with his shorts, as fingers ghosted over his ass teasingly as they passed by. He groaned, wanting him now, _needed_him right _now_!_Fuck_ the man was a teaser.

"I _love_to pay you back," and then that heated erotic whisper there made his blood immediately rush southwards to his already twisting length –all the blood going from his brain down to his groin almost made him dizzy-, before same mouth kissed him again, passionately, lovingly.

Sanji chuckled into the kiss, fingers running through green strands of hair, grabbing it tight "you damn perverted marimo–oh, mmm~"

"Yeah," he whispered heated, and plunged his tongue into that lovingly hot mouth, and with big difficulty pulled his own pants down, to enter the needing blond.

God how he loved this man… though none of them aware of that they had the exact same thought…

…The case about Ace, totally forgotten in the heat.

SL-SL-SL-SL

"What? Shut uup~! You're kidding, right?" Sanji was once again talking with the freckled man in the phone, and laughed good-heartedly. Zoro grumbled, not liking that their Saturday movie-night was getting ruined once again by that freaking phone.

"Come on~," he whined, clearly annoyed and bored about being left alone in the sofa. Head lolling to the side so he could see the blond who'd moved out into the kitchen to be able to hear Ace above the loud noise from the T.V. "Cut him off and sit down here," he patted the seat beside him a bit too, motioning him to come sit _now_. Sanji glared at him, motioning him to be quiet and turned his back to him, to laugh into the phone again. Zoro growled and leaned his head back, seeing the back of the blond upside down. He zoomed out of the conversation, going into his own world and even cut off the noises from the T.V. as well.

Ace was a nice guy, fun talking with and so. Zoro even started to like the man, but not when he called at times like these; when he and the blond had their rarely lonely moments with each other, since they both had jobs there needed them to work late –one would almost think that the man was psychic and did it on purpose, just to annoy the hell shit out of him. Sanji even had late-night-shifts sometimes, what leaved them every so often to not have any time with each other at all.

More often the fire worker would even call the blond in the middle of the night, even when they freaking where doing _it_, the blond would grab the phone, kicking Zoro off and leave him to speak into the phone. It was almost like he was engaged with that phone, or even bewitched by it, and Zoro caught himself in wanting to drown it in the toilet and flush it out. But, the chef would most likely kill him right after that, since the phone wasn't one of the cheapest kinds.

It was getting too much, all this was slowly making him crazy, and he was on the brim to pull his hair out and roar up into the skies. He wanted his Sanji to be with _him,__alone,_ no _phones,_ no freaking _Ace_calling at the most idiotic of times, just he and him, cuddling in the sofa as they had done just moments ago, breathing in the wonderful scent from the blonds' hair, enjoying it, just as he always did when he was in the near of his chef.So, therefore as the blond was chatting into the phone, smoke in one hand –Sanji had promised to cut off smoking, but Zoro had learned what it would mean to be with someone cutting off smoking straight away, and had told him that cutting off a _little_was okay, but not stopping completely.

Zoro had made his decision and stood up straight. Sanji didn't hear him as he arrived from behind him, nor sensed him, not before the phone was literally ripped out of his hand.

"Sorry _Ace,_ but Sanji can't talk right now," Zoro almost growled into the speaker. Ace, apparently sensing that something was wrong, gave him a good-natural laugh, but there was something about the sound of it there made his skin prickle, and Zoro hated it.

"_Hey__Zoro,_"

He halted for a moment. There was something about that voice right now, which he hadn't heard before, and disliked very much. The following creepy out-of-place chuckle as he spat the word "What?" into the phone, made him hate it even more. The hell was up with him all of a sudden?

"_I__'__ll__get__him,_"

"What are you-"

He paused, realising. His hesitation made the other chuckle in the phone, as he stared up at the blond, who just stood and gaped at him, asking him what the hell he was doing, or something like that... he didn't really pay any attention, Ace's words had captured the whole of it.

"_He__'__s__already__mine__… _Zoro…_!_"

Then the anger came, and Zoro almost crushed the phone in his hand as a voice deep inside of him yelled _'__I__told__you__so!_'before he slammed the phone shut and went for the window. He knew it! He had damn hell known it all along that Ace was too good to be true. He fucking _knew_that that fuck-head was up to something!

'_He__wants__to__take__Sanji__away__from__me,__that__bastard?_' so did he know about him and the blond as well? He must have, else he wouldn't have said those words. But if he told Sanji this… he would never believe him… that was for sure. The blond would just think that it would be one of his sad excuses to make him stop talking with him, therefore there were only one solution for that answer; the phone must go! He knew this would be his doom no matter of what, but he could take the screaming and yelling there for sure would come. The phone made a cracking sound as he clenched his fist even more, his vision red of pure anger. '_That__bastard__…__!_'

"Oi Zoro! The fuck you think you're doing?" The blond roared, and only now moved, as the man started to opening the window, his phone in a death grip in his large hand, in danger to crumble into small pieces in any minute. His face paled. "Oh no you don't, marimo! Don't you _dare_to do it!"

"I'm sick and tired of you and him always chatting like freaking women for hours, every fucking day!" he roared back, '_and__because__that__fucking__bastard__want__to__take__you__away__from__me,_'and thought as well, so much wanting to say the words out loud, but knew it would be useless. He pulled the phone back over his head, ready to throw it out to Neverland*¨, where only good children with happy thoughts could get to.

"Zoro! Stop!" There was horror in his voice. "You know how much that I-phone cost me?" Zoro didn't listen as he backed a bit away, and then made a run for the window, phone ready to leave the safety of his hand. "_DON__'__T!_" He had almost tumbled over the windowsill as the blond had rocketed into him from behind, grabbing the hand holding the phone. His heart jumped out of his throat as he looked down into the death fifty-five feet underneath them, Sanji's legs the only support holding both of them back from getting killed down on the street. Suddenly he was ripped back, landing unceremoniously on the hard parquet-floor, with a fuming blond above him, a pale hand shivering as it held the I-phone in a death grip. "The _hell_, was _that_ about, you fucking ape…?" his voice was shaking dangerously, Zoro knew that when the blond spoke like _that_, he would be in big shit. "_HUH?__"_ And just as he had predicted, the foot came slamming down in an axe-kick, almost leaving a crater where his head once had been; it would have send him into a long coma, if it had hit him.

Zoro rolled away, scrambling up on his feet to face the blond, who came storming towards him, next kick already ready to send him to either paradise or hell. He moved an arm up to stop the kick, and pushed the leg away. Stupid mistake, because then the next kick only would come right after. He dodged that one just in time as well.

"You're fucking hanging on that phone all the freaking time!" he yelled back, since no calm talking would help here, and grabbed the foot there would have come slamming him right in his kidney. "You're too damn naïve!"

"Not true! And the hell you talking about, you jalousie algae-head?" the blond protested, trying to yank his foot out of the others grip. "Let go, so I can fucking crush your stupid face!"

"You're even stopping in the middle of our fucking just to talk with that… _man_!" His hand stopped the second kick as well, leaving the blond to land on his hands, both legs trapped.

"That was _once_,you imbecile gorilla! It was after he had been running into a burning house, and almost getting himself killed!" He grabbed Zoro's legs, making the mountain of muscles to come crashing to the floor, and kicked him under the jaw, making the man seeing stars for a long moment of time.

"And you believe that fuck-head? Hell, I'm _in_danger every freaking day as well, working as an iron-worker, balancing high above the ground on those bloody buildings, just to make for a living!" he kicked back, but the blond managed to get out of his reach. Zoro crawled after him and grabbed his leg, yanking him down to his level and punched him right in the face "And yet you don't fucking care a _shit_about that_,_ just saying that it's stupid!"

"Because it _is_stupid!" the blond roared, kneeing the man in the stomach, who in return gave him a nice blue eye "Construction-builder, Fisher in the North Sea, Truck driver through Canada, Lumberjack, and now as a shitty Iron-worker! The fuck? Is life too boring to get a _normal_job?"

"Well, excuse me for not having such a nice education, and my ass propped with money as you and your freaking friend does!"

"I didn't tell ya to get a high-educated job, you moron! That would be too much asking your stupid brain for! And leave Ace out of this!"

"There you go again! Always Ace, Ace, Ace, _freaking__ACE_!" His fist slammed beside the blonds' head, who in return kneed him in the guts.

"You're sick! What's wrong with that I'm talking with him?"

"Because you're _talking_with him almost all the freaking time for _hours_!"

"You jealous!"

"Hell I'm not! But it's fucking annoying! And he's not fucking trustworthy either!"

"The hell you saying, huh?"

"Stay away from him! Stop calling him, damn it! Stop _talking_with him!"

"The fuck? I'll talk with _whoever_I want to, _whenever_I want to, and that's none of your shitty business!"

Limps flailed around as the two men wrestled on the floor, punching, nails scraping, kicking each other as they rolled around, fighting for whom to be on top and give the other a good old beating.

It was Franky and Tilestone –a large muscled loud-speaking lumberjack, who had muscles like a mountain, but no stronger than his boss Franky- who came and pulled them apart from each other, before they would kill one another. Apparently it had been Usopp, the engineer-student from underneath, who also was a friend of them, there had called Franky for assistance, which then had pulled Tilestone along with him, when hearing what had happened. It took them a whole hour to cool down the two young men, and Zoro grabbed his jacket, not speaking a single word after the fight, glancing at the blond before he left the apartment to go jog outside in the cold night, to get his mind on the right track again.

SL-SL-SL-SL

"Lu wants to talk with you," the I-phone was literally thrown in his face, as the blond tossed it over his shoulder towards him. Zoro grabbed the phone, and stared sadly at the angry form of his blond, before answering the phone.

"Hello?" Sanji didn't turn around to face him as he cooked the dinner for the two of them. Actually it had been rare for the two of them speaking with each other lately. When they finally spoke, certain subjects would come up and they would be on the head of each other again. Franky and Tylestone was way too often being called by a nervous and pretty worried Usopp to stop the two of them from ripping the head off each other. Once the engineer-student hadn't been home, the other neighbours had then called the police to drag Zoro away from him. Later that night he had returned home, Sanji was gone leaving a note about that food stood in the refrigerator, and all around in the apartment ruined furniture's was to be seen. Next day the blond had always bought them some new ones there looked like the old ones. Luckily the blond only kept to destroying the stuff there was easily to be replaced, Zoro had realised that the tempered cook _never_once broke any of his Japanese-looking furniture, and that somehow comforted him on a weird way.

"_ZORO!__Hi!__How__are__you_?" came the late but pretty loud and happy reply on the other line, almost making the iron-worker falling off the sofa as he had dazed for a moment, falling into old memories where the blond normally would have watched him with a happy smile, teased him with unspoken words, came over to sit with him, teasing him to hold his cool while speaking, while Sanji himself kissed him, tickled him, licked him or did other erotic things. Once he had let out a loud moan when he had his boss in the phone, fucking embarrassed at the situation, he had haunted the laughing blond right after, and tickled him until he screamed up, pleading him to stop, and then the naughty business would come, though none complained about _that_part. The teasing moments while he had been on the phone, he had found rather annoying at times. But now, now he missed the contact with his blond so much that it hurt him deep in his heart thinking about it. He almost could feel it being slowly ripped apart.

He needed his drug, he needed his _Sanji_, his _old_Sanji, not this cold lifeless body, there only lived up for the matter for yet another phonecall or when their friends came by.

"Sorry?" He hadn't heard the next sentence the kid had literally yelled at him.

"_I__said;__you__know__what__we__'__re__going__to__do__next__weekend?__"_ He could almost see the kid jump up and down while speaking in the phone, impatiently to tell the rest. Luffy, Ace's little brother, was a person far from his older brother. He was fun, only called Sanji to talk about meat and how much he missed eating his meat, and of course talking about other stuff as well. But he didn't mind Luffy, somehow, though he never had met the kid, he trusted him. The kid was simply too innocent than to want nothing but peoples friendship… and Sanji's cooking, but who the hell wouldn't? When Luffy finally called, what was rare in comparing to how much his older brother called Sanji, the kid always wanted to talk with Zoro, no matter of what, and if he wasn't around, Luffy would call every freaking five minutes to hear if he had come back home. A pretty pissed Sanji had told him this, and told him to give him his number instead, so the kid would stop torturing him by asking after him.

Zoro had only chuckled at this and said that the blond had deserved that, while he had ruffled his hair, leaving the golden top into a mess. Sanji always had half-heartedly kicked him for this.

"_Zooorooo,__you__'__re__not__listening__todaaay!_" the kid whined. Damn it, he had to stop falling into deep thoughts all the time. He glanced up at the blond, who had throw him a quick glance to see what he was doing. Zoro could swear that there was a worried look in those eyes, before the head had turned away fast.

"Sorry, m'just a bit tired today." He apologized, running his fingers through his short green hair. "So, no, what are you going to do next weekend?" Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the blonds' body freeze. He raised a brow in question, but didn't ask.

"_You__don__'__t?__Man,__I__thought__that__Sanji__had__told__you!_" he could almost hear the pout in the boy's voice. This time he couldn't stop himself from looking straight at the blond, who's motion with cutting the garlic had went down to snail-speed.

"No, Sanji hasn't told me anything at all," the cook was trembling now, and his breathing had even become unsteady, like he was either nervous or scared. Why was he _scared_? "So, what's up?"

He could almost hear the smile through the kid's voice "Me and Ace and Dad and Gramps and Uncle," he could almost see him counting them all on his fingers when he also went through the list of their maids, butlers and cooks. Honestly, this family had their asses so full of money that it was crazy, and yet the two brothers would have normal low-paid jobs, just because they wanted to be among 'normal' people. Zoro could understand them. Luffy, though he always referred him to being a kid since he mostly acted like one, was now a graduated math and English teacher of all things.

"_Hey,__you__listening?_" The young teacher asked suspiciously, Zoro almost chuckled at that, but kept his cool face as he stared at the blond cook.

"Yeah, I'm listening, it's hard not to hear ya, ya know," Luffy laughed good-heartedly and pointed out that he actually _had_ been zooming out a couple of times by now. Zoro told him to shut up and go on with the subject.

"_Anyway,__we__are__all__going__to__move__to__New__York!__Isn__'__t__that__cool?_" Zoro froze, his breathing even stopped. He saw the blond look nervously over his shoulder as he hadn't been able to move his lips to speak for a long time now, while Luffy literally had screeched up about this and that they were going to do when they finally all would meet.

"That's…that's good to hear… Luffy," he wasn't even paying much attention to him anymore, though he never would mind Luffy for coming, even moving up to the same city as them, if even the same street or building, but it was _Ace._ He had mentioned _Ace_was coming along with them. _Ace_! Why couldn't he just not had stayed over there in that freaking little country called Denmark, and play his daily role as a fucking _hero?_

The cold and empty feeling there once had paralyzed his whole body and mind, now slowly was filling up with a heated feeling of anger and betrayal. _Why_hadn't Sanji told him anything about this? For how long _had_he even known about this? His hand holding the blonds' phone started to shake dangerously and threatened to crush the poor phone into crumbles.

"Luffy… I have to go now," he said, doing all what he could to not sounding as angry as he felt right now, but somehow Luffy caught on that something was wrong with him, and he literally heard him frown in the phone.

"_Zoro,_" he said seriously, it was rare to hear him like that, Zoro only had heard him like this only once before "_Don__'__t__do__anything__stupid__you__will__regret._"

"Sorry," was the only replay he could give him, before he turned off the phone, and laid it carefully down on the sofa table in front of him, almost afraid of that any fast motions would ruin or destroy anything. He stood up to face the blond completely, who now had turned his head away from him to turn off the fire underneath his cooking, and laying down the knife, away from the two of them, before he turned around as well with a determined expression on his face.

This… this would become one of those days again where Zoro would have to stay at Usopp's place for a couple of days, until things would get cool between the two of them again, mostly because Sanji hated to waste food, and wasted it would be again today. It was sad, Zoro had even sensed that they might would have had a nice day today, without any bickering, without any fights, might even had been able to watch a movie together. But all that was ruined now, all that was destroyed, and it even gave him a pang of guild and sadness in his chest, as he opened his mouth to ask. Why did he even take it this bad? Couldn't he just not ignore? Couldn't he just not accept Sanji's new friend? No he couldn't, because said _friend_wanted to take _his_Sanji _away_from him. _No__one_were _ever_going to take _his_Sanji away from _him_. He knew it sounded sick, wrong, but he would rather live like cats and dogs with him, than not having him by his side at all.

Sanji already made his stand, ready to fight, ready to defend. But to Zoro's own surprise, he only closed his mouth again, shook his head sadly, reserving a suspicious but confused look from the blond, as he turned around, shoulders low and defeated. "I'm not hungry," he managed to choke out, before he grabbed his jacket and sneakers, and ran out into the night. Running always made him think clearer, and he had been running a lot lately, both physically and mentally speaking.

He missed his old Sanji, he missed his old self… he missed the time before Ace, before all of this shit happened. He missed to be able to be in control with his own self, with his own desires. He knew that if he saw Ace right in the moment, he would have killed him. '_Concentration,_' his father once had said that their part of the family, when they finally fell in love in someone, they were cursed with the sickening way of loving someone too much. His uncle once ended in jail for catching a stranger looking at his wife the wrong way and had litteraly smashed his face in. His aunt had screamed that time, told him to relax. Uncle was sick, she often had told him when he was a kid, he was sick, but a good man. Aunt died two years later because his father had fully lost it, when she'd kissed another man on the cheek. Five days later he found his uncle laying dead in the apartment. His father had said that Zoro have to learn to control his feelings, never to let them overrun him. "Don't make the same stupid mistakes as your uncle. You'll regret it all in the end." Zoro had been able to control his feelings, always had, just like his father who wasn't as bad 'hit' as his uncle. But then when he had realised his feelings for a certain blond man, it had all slowly started. The curse, the blinding rage at anyone for looking wrongly at his blond, the feeling of having an _ownership_of the blond. He didn't _own_him, Zoro more than knew it, but his stupid fucked up mind told him otherwise '_Damn__it!__**Concentrate!**_' he have to learn to trust his blond. He have to learn his _mind_to trust him, to not be so _stupid_. But Zoro was in love, _madly,_more like _sickingly_in love in the blond. '_But__I__'__m__not__uncle.__I__'__m__not__like__him.__**Never**____like__**him**__!_'

He came home late that night. Sanji had already gone to bed, meal stood prepared on the counter with a film over the plate, with a note on it saying '_For__Shitty__Marimo_'. He smiled a little, but didn't feel the happiness in it. He warmed the food in the micro, ate it slowly at the counter, enjoying the taste exploding in his mouth. Even though that it had been re-heated, Sanji's food _always_ were good, but of course it was at its best when it was served right after the preparation.

Washing the plate and the cutlery, he then went to the bathroom, taking a fast shower. He tiptoed into the bedroom where Sanji laid fast asleep, looking like an angel as he slept. His heart wrenched at the sight and found himself looming over the blond not two seconds later, running his fingers through his soft strands of hair. Sanji moved in his sleep, and smiled happily at the familiar touch, but didn't wake up. Zoro even dared to lean down, breathe in the familiar but now forbidden sense, and kissed him gently on the top of his head. Sanji moaned in his sleep and whispered his name. The pain grew inside of him; he was split between go into bed with him or go out on the sofa, which lately had become the iron-workers second home. He moulded over the thought, getting more and more tempted to lie down beside him, but thought the better of it, and turned to go grab his clothes, but a hand in the night grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Zoro froze and held his breath, as he dared to look down, and met two blue eyes looking sleepy, pleadingly back up at him.

"Stay," the blond whispered, his voice raspy, full of sleep and hinted with a bit of sadness "…please…?" Zoro chewed at the inside of his mouth, before he nodded. Sanji moved further into the bed, making room for the other to lie down. Zoro, hesitating for a moment, fearing that this was just yet another teasing dream, that he must have fallen asleep on one of the benches in the park, since this looked too god to be true, dropped his towel on the floor.

Sanji blinked, both eyes visible in the night, the white ray from the bright moon gleamed in the depths of the blue sea in those eyes, drank in the sight of the naked iron-worker in front of him. The muscles flexed under the tanned skin as he moved, the white light giving the man a somewhat magical appearance, almost ghost-like. The chef sighed as the iron-worker moved in beside him and draped the covers over the man.

They lay there for a moment, none of them saying anything or doing anything, they just laid there and listened to each others breathings in the silent room. Zoro felt uneasy about this, almost like they were two teenagers who were going to have their first sex ever. He didn't know what he could dare to do, touch him? Hold him? Kiss him? But then again his heart protested against him to do anything beside that. It couldn't take it, not yet, not before he had cleared out some things.

He hadn't felt the other move beside him, not sensing his worried eyes searching his serious face for any answers, which was why he almost freaked out as the blond man suddenly loomed above him, long slender pale arms planted on each side of him, while ocean-blue eyes watched him, only now he saw the worries in them. Sanji defiantly looked like an angel, his pale chest looking almost white in the light, his hair shone like a pale crown or a halo in the night. Creamy skin, so tempting to touch, to kiss, to taste, but he refused to move, he simply just couldn't, so enthralled was he at the sight above him that he could do nothing but stare.

"Zoro," his name was whispered out, gusted through the room like a serene wind. He only made to blink once, twice, before soft lips pressed against his, kissing him ever so softly. He tried to restrain himself, but couldn't as Sanji's mouth work him into the mood, make him response ever so hungrily, needing to feel the softness that he haven't felt for such a long time. He allowed his fingers to run through those blond strands of hair, pressing him further down to deepen the kiss. Sanji didn't protest, and only kissed him more fiercely. His slender body now flush against his, elbows on each side of him, while needing fingers moved in his short hair, each holding a wad of hair for dear life, almost like he was afraid of that he would disappear if he didn't hold on tight enough. He moved his head up just a little, a string of saliva connecting their mouths, hot breath of air bathing their faces, before he turned his head to get another angle and dove back down to kiss him, and Zoro drank it all, never being able to have enough of his blond. The taste of Sanji's lips was like a drug; the more he had, the more he wanted.

"Sanji," he panted heated into their kiss. Sanji groaned, their kissing getting sloppy, more needing.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, while still kissing the man underneath him, and moved his hips against the other. "I'm sorry," Slender fingers moved down along Zoro's sides, kept moving down, while the blond kept on apologizing, and suddenly a hand moved in between them. Zoro gasped as talented slender fingers stroked his manhood, while the blond still kept on kissing him. His hips moved on their own up to get touched some more, but he refused to let this go on, and grabbed the blonds' shoulders to push him away.

"No, don't," he said breathlessly, but sternly, though his mind yelled and cursed at him for stopping the blonds' act. Sanji blinked confused at him and was about to say something as Zoro cut him off. "We can't… not now… maybe… maybe tomorrow, or so,"

" 'Or so?' Why the hell not now? Damn it, I said that I was sorry already!"

Zoro moved to sit up, Sanji still on his lap, and stared into his eyes without saying anything. Sanji, realising that he hadn't said out the words correctly, ran a hand down his own face and groaned.

"Fuck," he said into his hand. His fingers grabbing his own hair tight, as he leaned forward, head bumping into the iron-worker's muscled chest. The blond shuddered as he took a deep breath of air "…fuck… I… I'm sorry, Zoro, that I, that I didn't… urgh! Why the hell is it all so damn complicated?"

"Because you're _making_it all so damn complicated! Why didn't you tell me?" Zoro pointed out calmly. Sanji sighed heavily, leaning his head back and stared up into the ceiling, as would the right answer be to find up there. Not long after he looked seriously into his lover's dark eyes.

"Look, I'm sorry. But honestly, Jesus, you're acting like I've been cheating on you or something,"

Zoro furrowed his brows. "Then _why_didn't you tell me about that _Ace_was moving over here?" he asked again, the name already tasting like shit in his mouth.

"What? It's not like I wanted to cheat on you or something, I-"

"Why do you keep on repeating that word then?"

"Because you're acting like I want to jump the man the moment he'll land with the plain!" The blond roared, angry at Zoro for not accepting his apologise, and only kept on with… _this_. "You're so fucking annoying and thick-headed! Why can't you not just accept Ace?"

'_Because__he__wants__to__take__you__away__from__me,__that__'__s__why!_'

"You never answered my question," he chose to say instead.

"Well _you_didn't answer my question either, damn it!"

They stared angrily at one another, and after a few seconds with no words, Zoro sighed and pushed the blond off him. Just as he made to stand up, he was immediately grabbed from behind, pale arms holding around him, standing out strong against Zoro's tanned chest.

"Wait, just…" Sanji sighed, his breath bathing Zoro's ear from behind. "Look, I'm sorry, just… just don't go again I… stay here…?"

The blond chef had no idea of how much he wanted to stay, how much he wanted him, forgetting all this shit, but his mind was a stupid thing, and he moved again to stand up, mumbling a silent no to him, but couldn't move as Sanji held on tight onto him.

"Please…?" the blond then tried, not wanting the other to leave. He couldn't get it why Zoro was so jalousie at Ace, it wasn't like that he… but he knew how Zoro would have taken it if he had told him that Ace would move over to NY, then again; what did he think? That Ace could sneak into the country without the iron-worker ever noticing it? Hell, he _had_acted like someone who _wished_to cheat on the one they loved. He groaned at his own stupidity, and held on tighter on the man he loved so much. '_I__would__never__be__able__to__live__without__this__idiot__… __when__will__he__ever__understand__that?_'

Closing his eyes, Zoro sighed heavily and finally let himself being brought back down into the bed, but didn't turn around.

Sanji felt a pang of guilt hitting him hard in his heart, as it only was the others back there stared back at him. He wanted to feel him, him to "Hold me…?" he asked carefully, surprised that he even said that out loud. Zoro held his breath, but still didn't move. He lifted his hand to touch the strong-looking back, but almost didn't dare to make the contact. "…please…?" he almost whispered out.

Zoro chewed the inside of his mouth, Sanji never said please this often, unless he had a bad conscience about something. But he turned none the less around to face him, and just as he moved his arm up to hold around the skinnier man, the blond at once snuggled into him, sighing at the contact. They did nothing but lay there; Zoro with his arm around Sanji, who tried to get as close as possible into his chest, almost like he tried to melt into him. Soon the night was filled with quiet breathings as the blond finally had fallen asleep.

This wasn't unusual for them, they often fell asleep like this, or sometimes the other way; where Zoro fell asleep in his arms. He dared to move his arm up a little to get a better look of his sleeping blond. His fingers stroked through the blond strands of hair, toying a little with it, while he just looked at him thoughtfully. Of course he could never stop that Ace from coming. But what was he afraid of? Didn't he trust Sanji enough to let him go out with that man, who the blond saw as nothing but a friend? _If_Ace would have ever tried something, he knew that the chef would kick the hell shit out of him, until the man barely could walk again. He had done that once before, Zoro had seen it. Another man had tried to flirt with Sanji, and the moment the hand had touched him the wrong place, the man laid flat on the ground with several dangerous injuries.

"I only turned gay for you," the blond had back then told him, pointing a smoking cigarette at him. He couldn't even remember _what_he had said to him back then, since he had been saying those words "remember that, you fucking ungrateful pain-in-the-ass moss-head!"

Zoro chuckled at the memory, and made it more comfortable in the bed, pressing his blond closer against him. If Ace ever dared flirting with him, if he ever managed to make the blond to like him just a bit more than a friend, Zoro would fight back. He would never give up. As long as there was hope he would fight, until Sanji had made his final choice. Ace would never be able to steal the meaning of his life away from him. Sanji meant the world to him, and he would fight to the end.

Determined by this, Zoro relaxed just a bit more, holding even more around him, as was he afraid of his 'treasure' in life would slip away from him if he didn't hold on tight enough.

'_I__will__fight,__Sanji!__I__will__fight__for__us!__That__ass__will__not__succeed__in__shattering__what__we__have__built__up__together.__'_

He leaned down and kissed his blond hair, before settling back to fall asleep.

"I love you… shitty-cook…!"

'_I__promise!_'

**~_To__be__continued_~**

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Love can be a cruel thing…

Hold on tight on it, if you don't want to loose it…!

_**Note;**_

*Merbleue; 'mer bleue' is French and means; sea blue.

** In Denmark it's known that the most of true blond people with blue eyes, mostly comes from the neighbour-country Sweden. So we allowed Sanji to have the elegant side of him and the great cooking from France, and the look from Sweden. ^c^

*' '_Holsterbro__'_ is a town laying 16 miles from Jylland's west-cost, in Denmark

*¨Neverland; from the story 'Peter and Wendy' by J. M. Barrie, (novel written 1911, story later known as 'Peter Pan and Wendy', and lately just as 'Peter Pan')


	2. Don't want to Believe It

Shattering Love

-A One Piece fan fiction

By

Crystal Blue Fox

And

School Escapee

**2. Chapter **

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**Don't want to Believe It**

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

It was irritatingly to watch how the man literally hang all over the blond; a glass beer in one hand, the other hand sneaking around the chef's slender shoulder, both laughing at something he didn't even cared listening to, pink tinkering their cheeks, showing how drunk they both had become.

It was late at night, and they were still celebrating Zoro's birthday. Everyone was merry and drunk at this time, presents had been opened, but the birthday-boy himself were only drunk.

'_That__fucking__… __Just__look__how__close__he__sits__against__him,__having__his__arm__on__his__shoulder,__like__in__a__freaking__stupid__teenage-movie!__'_ he thought drunkenly and took a swig of his Jack Daniels, while he sat in a chair, in the opposite side of the room, almost glaring holes in the side of Ace's head. The freckled man and his younger brother, Luffy –who was now standing on a table, arm in arm with both Usopp and Chopper, singing out loud of out-of-tunes jolly birthday-songs and other crazy/weird songs Zoro never had heard of before, while Franky chirped in with his guitar- had moved to the town barely a month ago. Luffy had almost literally moved into their apartment as well; every day just before work and after work the kid –as the iron-worker still saw the young teacher as- came in to nag Sanji to cook him some food. After a good kick and a teaching about that knocking down peoples doors wasn't allowed, the blond chef served the food-maniac what he wanted. He never had any problems with Luffy. He just beat him if he were too annoying, and the raven would just laugh at it right after.

The problem was Ace. The older brother had a habit of hanging around way too long at a time, and also being way too close to the blond chef. Sanji didn't mind though, telling it was all just him being friendly on his own way, but Zoro hated it, he knew the real reason of the man. He swore that the older raven sent him a satisfied look over the shoulder, every time he managed to get the blond out in town, alone. If the blond hadn't threatened him to stay calm, Zoro would have killed the man a long time ago.

'_Hey!__Hey,__hey,__hey!__What__the__hell__does__that__hand__do__on__his__leg?_' he almost jumped out of his seat to sprint over and rip the other man away from his blond, as he saw the tanned hand sneak to a place there were strictly forbidden for anyone else but him.'_Oi!__The__hell__is__that__hand__doing__on__his__leg?__The__fuck__Sanji,__stop__giggling__like__a__freaking__girl!__You__never__let__anyone__get__this__close__to__you__**or**____touch__you__like__that__in__the__public,__unless__they__'__re__born__with__tits__and__pussies!__Hand__off!__Hand__off!__Hush__hush,__gone__with__you!__'_

"It's almost a sight to throw up at, isn't it?" Zoro almost leapt out of his skin with a scream caught in his throat, when Nami's voice suddenly spoke right beside him. He hadn't even heard her come.

"Eh?"

"Those two," she says, nodding in the two men's direction, who damn hell looked like two freaking school-kids flirting with each other. He couldn't agree more. "Careful with that he wont snatch him away from you~" she almost sang, pressing herself even closer up against him. Zoro doesn't realise _how_close she even is, before he feel a thin delicate hand sneak up along his own leg.

"What are you doing?" He's not drunk enough to let her do as she please, and brushes the hand away. Though Nami had been the one to break up back then, he knew the woman had tried to get him back for herself, if not for love, then only for sex. He swore that she even would dare to charge him, _if_ he ever agreed to go into bed with her. Nami snickered, her hand sliding up along his arm instead, her breath bathing his neck as she whispers seducingly to him, gives him almost Goosebumps.

"Let's give him back of his own medicine, whad'ya say?" to point out her words, her hand had already sneaked down in between his legs, and grabed his groin. Zoro have to struggle to keep his mouth shut from letting out any moans. _Fuck_! He could almost swear that those long nails had pierced through his own pants as well and into his very sensitive skin. Nami must be royally smashed, else she _never_would do such a thing.

"No!" he points out sharply, though the buddy down south screams '_yes!_' as her fingers massage it, making it at least twenty degrees hotter in the room. He tries to brush her hand off, but the hand is almost glued to his dick. "Hands off!" or else _he_ is too smashed himself to push the right hand away, since he finds his own hand landing beside him all the time. No, it's the heat between his legs, the lips ghosting over his sweating neck, the breasts pressing wantingly into his arm, trapping his one hand, there's making him more drunk than any alcohol can make him. "_Move_!" he groans under his breath, trying again to get that teasing hand off him. He could swear that his pants just had shrunk a couple of sizes smaller. Nami chuckles, and lays a delicate long sun-kissed naked leg over his, the miniskirt crawling even further up to show what it hides underneath it, wanting to press her lips against his lips, but Zoro turns his face away, so she only manage to kiss him right under his ear. He shivers; the place being one of his most sensitive places. "You're drunk,"

"Just trying to help a friend out, but it'll cost, remember that~" she singsongs in her devilish sweet voice. Zoro can just barely hear feet's shuffle angrily closer to them, as the orange-haired woman makes him want to scream 'hallelujah' as her hand, hidden by her leg over his legs so not everyone could see what she was doing, pulls heaven down to earth as it works him hard and horny. His free hand moves down to remove hers away, but she's stubborn, and just rubs him even faster. Cursing under his breath, he's about to push her completely off him, as a grumbling voice makes hell freeze to ice, and his heart to stop beating for a second. Zoro couldn't be more happy or horrified as he looks up at his saviour; his drunken but mad blond boyfriend.

"Would you mind remove your hand off him, Nami-dear?" The words almost being spitted out brutally, though he tries to speak nicely. Nami smirks and winks him away, but does nothing to remove herself from Zoro's lap.

"I thought that you were too occupied yourself?" She asks as naively as a child, who thinks that what they're doing is completely innocent and not wrong. He can literally see the chef's blood boil in his veins, as his hands works, trying to make himself stay calm, and not rip the woman off his lap.

"Haha! Let the two of them be, dude, looks like that they're having a good time together." Zoro now hears Ace's cheerful voice, as said man now came over to them, hanging his arm around the blonds' neck, one beer still in hand. Sanji doesn't move, it's like he's grown roots into the ground. "Nice birthday gift you got there for him, Nami," he now says, lifting up his glass of beer to cheer her up.

Zoro suddenly gets the whole idea, and let go of her hand to grip her hips and pull her even closer up to his lap, while he smirks teasingly at the blond. Oh he _know_that the day of doom now had come to destroy him, but his alcohol-clouded mind thinks this is too fun to not enjoy fully, before dying.

"What? Envious, _Cook_? Or just jealous?" his smirk almost splits his face into two half's, as the blond are almost exploding in front of him, his fingers down along his sides making cramp-like movements.

"You'd wish, _garbage-head_!" he almost spits fire through his clenched teeth, while hells flames are burning in his one visible eye.

Ace pulls the blond into a tight side-hug, tells him to let them be, and Zoro swear that the hand right after have sneaked down to linger on the chef's ass, without the chef himself knowing or feeling it. Not before it squeezes him, and he lets out a girlish yelp, there makes the room freeze, all eyes on the blond… before it erupts into a loud laugh, making said blonds' cheek turning into a crimson red. Sanji turned around immediately to glare at him, and Zoro couldn't be any happier as the freckled fire worker has done his life's biggest mistake. Two seconds later and an angry warning following after him, the man finds himself crashing into the wall beside the table with all the presents on.

Nami chuckles and looks into Zoro's face, who are fully enjoying the other man's suffering. She smirks, "Mission complete, wont you say?" she whispers to him. As the two dark eyes looks into hers, she can't stop herself from pressing her lips against his chin, just barely managing to move them away from said man's face. She knows that Sanji's looking in their direction again, though his blond hair is hiding his stare underneath it, knowing well enough that he's looking, she takes her sweet time to climb off the iron-workers lap, sensing that there's not long time, before the blond gentleman snaps. "Hope you liked your present, _Zoro-dear,_" she winks at him, blows a kiss in his direction and Zoro knows that his cheeks are reddening.

"Home. Now." is the only two words the blond can manage to say, without spitting too much venom out.

One of the other things Zoro love, is to tease this man. So, well knowing that he has an erect problem down south, he sits back in his chair, spreads his legs as to invite him in to the same place, placing his arms nonchalantly behind his head, knowing where the blonds' eyes are looking at, though said eyes are hidden under his long bangs.

"Why? You tired? It's just about to get good, _Sanji_," He can literally hear the blonds' teeth crunch as he bites down to calm himself.

"Noo, but I think that _you_are_… __Zoro_!" he's really fighting to calm down, he can both see it and hear it.

"Me? oh noo. I'm all good, thank you so much for your kindness."

If Ace hadn't come just in time to ask the blond up to dance, Zoro's birthday would have become the day were he would have died a horrible death as well. Though he really itched for a good fight with the blond, and almost regretted to not take the blond on his words, call night a night and get home to sleep. Just any kind of contact would have been fine. Almost two weeks with no humanly contact with the blond, and four weeks with no sex, made a man do desperate stupid things. And a desperate stupid thing he surely did.

He had watched him, like a hawk watching its prey. His eyes still lingered on the pearl of sweat there had slid down his shining throat, and now disappeared somewhere inside his shirt. He had been surprised himself that he had stood up, grabbed his blond away from Ace, and danced with him like it meant his life. Sanji's breathing was heavy, deep, it made some lower parts of himself to come to life for sure; if it hadn't been erect already, it damn hell was now. He wanted to get back home, he wanted to get away from this party, hell if it hadn't looked totally suspicious, after he just had danced with him –something he never would have done if he had been sober-, he even would have grabbed the blond, run into the nearest room and fucked him completely out of his senses.

Maybe he'll do that later, when they'll get back home. Watching Ace sliding down the blond in a seducing and too intimate dance, watched his hands glide down his sides –Sanji had just been giggling like a freaking girl, a big sign on that he was completely smashed himself like most of them, and probably had forgot all about the incident with him and Nami- had made his blood boil up to the danger-zone, unaware of that he had done the same to the blond earlier that evening, making him wanting to fuck the blond much harder as soon as possible.

When they had went back home, parked the car, taking the elevator up to their apartment, Zoro had to literally bite his hand from reaching out to grab him and do _it_right on the spot. It felt like the machine bringing them up to their destination wanted to torture him some more; it damn hell felt like hundred years before the relieving _ding!_sounded, and the doors of the elevator opened. He wanted to hurry the blond on to walk some faster up to their door, and not making so many swings when he was supposed to walk straight. The key turned inside the hole, the door swung open, and it barely managed to close behind them, before Zoro had tossed the blond into the wall, and drowned a 'what-the-hell?' as he showed his tongue down his throat. Sanji froze at once, then melted into the kiss, and was like butter in his hands, as said hands moved over his chest, thumbs playing with his nipples through the textile. Then as his one hand wandered down south, while the other pulled the shirt out of his pants to feel the heated skin underneath it, Sanji let out a surprised moan into the kiss the moment his hand grabbed the growing bulge in his pants. And it grew fast as he rubbed it, kissed him, pressing him even further up against the wall, while his mind didn't know if it should keep going on this rate, or take it slowly. The anger still burned inside of him and he didn't want to destroy anything at all.

Sanji's ass had to suffer for said blond letting that raven touch him and flirt with him the way he had done, in full public to top it all. And no, he didn't care that Nami had done the exact same to him to make the blond royally pissed and jealous.

"Oh, _fuck_…!" the blond leaned his head back, gasping for air as his need down bellow demanded his full attention. His pants felt damn suffocating to be in. Zoro took the opportunity to lick his pale throat; licking up the sweat there still covered his body, and would even more after he had had his way with him. No sex with him for almost a whole month had been pure torture, just because his stupid mind and conscience wouldn't let him. Then two weeks with not even being able to _touch_the blond, made him curse at himself for being such a thick-headed moron. Zoro still thought it was amazing that he had been able not to kill himself from not being able to see this man naked, from not touching him, hearing his needy moans, not even being able to _kiss_him, just because he had said something stupid about that raven again, and had given him a nice blue eye as well.

He sucked his Adams apple, removed his hand so he could press his own hips flush against his and rub him into fully hardness, making the blond repeat that word _'__fuck__' _again and again.

"Hmm, I'm about to do that," he whispered in a husked voice, smiling while he kissed down the chef's throat, feeling up his sides with so much need that it was making him crazy holding back much longer. His fingers worked fast with the belt, it took all what he had to pull back those few inches, so that he could slide down to his knees, bringing both the pants and the underwear with him down. Sanji doesn't make to voice a word before Zoro's nose is covered in blond pubic hair, and instead rips out a long moan out of his throat, as he hums around his pulsing shaft.

Zoro works him slowly, sometimes fast. Sanji's not all that sure, he just knows that it feels oh so freaking good that he's about to loose it whenever the iron-worker does that thing with his tongue –how the hell could the man turn into a freaking pro by not having sex for such a long time? Sanji himself was even regretting for making that punishment, hating the man he loved for making a 'no sex before I've thought this through'. Fuck! He had tried the first two weeks to soften the other up, acted like a freaking whore, but instead have ended up in the bathroom, taking care of his own needs.

The last two weeks where he had sputtered out that punishment, had been pure torture for him as well. Zoro looked like to manhandle the no-sex-part, but not being able to touch each other… it had left the blond too many times wanting to just jump on the man, kiss him hard, hold him tight and fuck him, or let him being fucked by that –oh god!

Zoro's tongue did that _thing_again while he sucked him hard, and again he wondered how the hell the man had turned that good to make such a mind-blowing blow-job. Trained on himself? The image of his lover bending so much down, completely naked, and taking his own length into his mouth, made him both cringe in pain and in the same time leaves him giggling at the image. Seeing Zoro like that, it would need a damn flexible body, then he even wondered at the same time if _he_would be able to do that himself.

"Wha so fun-y?"

The voicing from the other sends vibrations up trough his length, making him almost see beautiful shining stars.

"Oh fuck, don't speak with my dick in your mouth, damn iiit~!" he tosses his head back as he both feel Zoro's nose buried in his crotch among blond hair, the head of his –he gulps- hitting the back of his throat all covered up in warm wet saliva, a tongue swirling, licking him like he's some kind of lollypop '_Fuck!__I__won__'__t__be__able__to__look__on__a__lollipop__anymore__without__picturing__my__dick__in__his__mouth__every__freaking__time!__'_ and humming around his length. He barely can keep up standing anymore as he feels his orgasm getting closer. Zoro's hands are on his hips, holding him back from falling, while his own hands are trying to dig into the wallpaper behind him, scratching it, doing anything to find some kind of support. He's loosing it, can't keep his mind sane any longer. No words sounds correctly, right, normally –_fuck!_ Jesus H Christ this feels damn hell good~!

'_Thank__you,__God__in__heaven,__thank__you__for__soften__this__idiot__up__again~!_'

Zoro knew that the blond was getting closer, and he already felt his own pants getting too tight and suffocating to be in. All the things that Ace did; talked, laughed with his blond, slapped his shoulder, held him, _touched_him, freaking _flirted_with him, it made him so damn pissed that he had to down a whole bottle of whisky to keep himself from strangling the man or simply grab a sword and slice him open. Yeah, maybe he should start training with swords? He had seen a web-page selling some Japanese swords for small money, and they did have a dojo down the third street from here, right?

Sanji was spouting some illogical words out by now along his long needy moans, he hadn't realised that he had gone faster, not even the fact that he had been using his teeth. The blond were literally clawing the wallpaper behind him, almost at the end to rip it apart. And then he came, hard and a lot. Zoro swallowed it all, drinking it all with great desire, wanting more of the taste of his blond. He licked the shrinking length, sucked it, leaving the blond wailing.

"Nho no, m'too sensitive, bastarh, no touch, no there, not," it didn't make any sense, his words. The blond was sliding slowly down along the wall, his whole body trembling. His musky scent radiated from his sweating body, making Zoro almost die of need. He was a pusher, an addict, Sanji was his drug… and he needed his drug right hell now. They only made it to the sofa, Sanji had tried to crawl away from him to have room to catch his breath, but he had been too much horny and hadn't been able to wait. The alcohol, too much of it, always made his patience shorter than normal, his need and lust shoot up into the sky. He wanted, no _needed,_ his blond drug right now, or else he would go completely crazy, literally!

SL-SL-SL-SL

The next morning he was woken up with his own fist slapping hard into his face, a pale hand holding around his wrist, making it do the unwanted motion again and again, until he would wake up. But as Zoro refused to come round to such a treatment, closing his small sleepy eyes again with an unpleasant grunt, his nose almost broke as a heavy object smashed into his face this time, making his eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

"What the fucking bitch?" he literally screeched, and froze as he saw the furious blond looming dangerously over him, both eyes visible, promising him a slow horrible death. Oh shit!

"That's my line, _dick_!" the blond sneered, and he could almost swear that his hair had turned into flames, as hells gate shone in his eyes, then another hit from some kind of unknown object hammered into the side of his head.

"Stop it, damn it! It hurts! The hell you got there anyway?"

"I have no freaking idea of what the hell happened yesterday," the blond growled through his clenched teeth, ignoring Zoro's question "only that I got small mental pictures of Nami straddling your lap while pumping _this__one_," he pointed out what 'this one' was, as he hammered the object down there. Zoro had never seen that many stars at the same time before, not even when being outside a clear winter night. His head doesn't even know what hurts the most; his abused throbbing head or his dying dick!

"_You__'__re_one to talk," he whistled through his clenched teeth, trying to get his vision to clear up again, so he could see where the heck the blond was. The 'object' there had abused him was nothing other but one of the chef's expensive leather-shoes. Hell, what was it made out of other than leather? Iron? Stone?

"The hell you talking about? I did nothing!"

"And that's exact the problem; you did _nothing_as that 'dear friend' of yours had his hand all over you!"

Sanji's face almost blew up like a balloon.

"He did _not_!"

"Too! Just ask the others; you where a nice display for everyone's drunken eyes!"

"Well," Sanji fell silent, trying to mould over what actually had happened, realising that the other was telling the truth, his face started reddening. If it was from embarrassment or anger, Zoro had no idea of. "He was drunk!"

"So? So was Nami! And what? You weren't drunk yourself? If not, why the hell did you let him touch you like that?" He pointed out. Sanji opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed it, thought, then opened it again, but still there were no coherent answers for that. Instead he just hammered the shoe back down on Zoro's molested manhood, who just in time grabbed it, wrestled it out of the chef's hand, and threw it to the other side of the room.

"Okay, I was drunk too, you happy?" he said, more irritated than anything, while despairingly throwing up his arms. Zoro furrowed his brows. Why was he defending all the time? Accept and apologize, was that so hard?

"In the matter of fact; I'm not. The next thing I know he got something else near you and-"

"Okay, _you_stop _right__there_! Jesus! You're overplaying it all! He's a _friend_, nothing more, never will be, okay?" He raises a brow as the iron-worker mumbles something that he can't even hear. "What was that?"

"Nothing," he mumbles, this time a little louder. Sanji gives up, leans a bit down on his arms, one hand resting on his head, there feels like it's taking a salsa down the street.

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't kick his ass some time earlier,"

"It's not that. I'll give you credit for ever kicking him like that," a smirk grows on the man's lips as he remember how the freckled man literally flew through the room thanks to the blonds' side-kick… then frowns as he remember the stuff after that. The laughing, the touches, the dance… too close dance, the too obvious flirting… he haven't even realised that he had mouthed all this out, as the blond suddenly blows up and screeches about how _he_let Nami touch him that intimate, freaking _stroking_him into hardness in the open full of people, kissing his neck and damn hell close to kiss him on the lips as well. Zoro tries to defend, but there's nothing to defend, and beside, the chef's too much into listing all other kind of crap that he has a problem with. Unbelievable he's almost dozing off, despite the loud torture screaming into his ears. As he forgets completely what they're sleeping on he moves to stretch out fully, aware of his throbbing head –didn't the shrieking cook have any hangover at all?-, but not aware of how small room there is on the place that they've been sleeping. Sanji tumbles over the edge, arms flailing as he gets pushed out of the sofa, and the moment his back hits the floor, a scream erupts from his throat.

The apartment turns silent at once.

Zoro stares horrified down at the blond, who's clearly in extreme pain, and reaches a hand down to help him.

"Sanji? What-"

"_Don__'__t__touch__me_!" he growls as he slaps the helping hand away, groaning as the pain throbs through his whole body. Zoro's silent, more like he can't move, not even if he wanted to. Seconds ticks by, the silence only being disturbed by the blond on the floor, who's trying to relax his breathing. As a whole minute stretches out, he finally opens his eyes again, and gives the green-haired man the most menacing look he ever have been able to perform. "You _fuck-head_," he growls through gritted teeth, the voice sending shivers down along Zoro's back, making Goosebumps to appear. He takes a deep breath of air. "YOU FUCKING SICK IN YOUR MIND OR SOMETHING?"

"What? What I've done now?" he asks, truly confused at what he's talking about. Nami again? The teasing at the party yesterday? What? As the blond motion him with one finger to come closer –a bit aware of that it might be a stupid idea, Zoro still leans over the edge to come closer-, and grabs his face in his trembling fist, shaking his head back and forth while screeching out loud.

"_THE__HELL__DO__YOU__DARE__TO__**DO**____**ME**__UNTIL__I__CAN__'__T__EVEN__**WALK**__?_"

Zoro squints his eyes together for the tortures sound roaring into his ears, then blinks.

Once…

…twice…

…and then laughs out loud as realisation hits him hard.

"Don't fucking laugh at me, bastard!" The blond roars, shaking the laughing man even more, almost until his head falls off.

"Wha-ha-at? you –hehe- wanted it, heh, begged for it again and again. _"__Faster,__oh__ooh,__Zoro,__do__me__harder.__Again,__please~__"__,_" he says laughing, turning his voice more into a girlish voice there was far from how the blonds' voice ever sounded like.

"I did _not_whine _or_beg like a girl, damn it!"

Zoro's smile is literally devilish, with a tint of a mad chuckle tingling in his voice. "How would you know? I thought that you didn't remember anything from yesterday, _girly_?"

It ends up with the two of them getting into a fist fight, wrestling on the floor, pulling at each others hair –well, more like Sanji hammering his fists multiple times at the others broad chest, pulling _his_hair and doing everything to hurt the laughing maniac, who tried with no big help to stop the others doing. In the end Zoro have to crawl away from the blond –who's ass hurts so much that he can't even pull himself an inch away from the spot- both burring their pounding heads deep into the floor, or more like wished to that they could, waiting for the throbbing pain from their hangovers to let go it's menacing grasps on their pore heads.

SL-SL-SL-SL

"There's a letter from your _girlfriend_!" Sanji throws the piece of paper at him, succeeding in hitting his face with the sharp corner of the envelope. Zoro growls, almost rips the paper apart as he tries to open the fucking stubborn envelope.

"She's not my 'girlfriend', you shit-head!" he spits back, then snicker's behind the paper, as he saw that the chef still were limping just a little, after 'their time' for about three days ago. You should have thought that the sex had brought them back together, but, it was the complete opposite. They barely had talked to each other since then, and when they finally did, it was to spit shit at one another.

Unbelievable the freckled shit hadn't even been around, only Luffy to get some food to eat. It had become a normalcy that none of them minded… as long as he wouldn't break down anything.

The reason to that the blonds' ass still hurt, was because of that they've been fighting a lot, literally, and standing and walking around for a nice ten hours in a busy kitchen in the restaurant with maybe only a five minutes break to sit down, didn't help to give the ass any rest. So, therefore, three days later, he was still limping. Sanji hated it, Zoro loved to tease him with it. He was about to give him yet another side-remark, as he saw what the letter, he had hided his face behind at, were saying, and dropped his jaw. "That fucking son of a bitch! Witch, freaking-"

"Hey! You stop insulting Nami-love like that, you incarnate ape!" The blond pointed at him angrily. Might be that he was mad at Nami, but that damn hell didn't mean that he would let anyone insult a lady at all!

Zoro's hands trembled, before he with a huff crumbled the paper so much, that it would be impossible to figure out where to start to open it back up. He threw the paper into the trashcan, by a second thought he grabbed it again, stole one of the blonds' lighters and put fire to the shitty paper.

"Oi! Pyro! Don't burn down the place, damn it!" Sanji scolded, shivering slightly at the dark aura oozing out from the other, it was so heavy that you almost could see it. "The fuck was that for?" he asked, as the man threw the burning ball in an ashtray, watching it turning into nothing.

"That bitch-"

"HEY!"

"-have the guts to charge me a _thousand_ _bucks_ for her 'help' back then!"

Sanji blinked, trying to figure out what the heck he spoke about, realising that it was about the flirting-thing back at Zoro's birthday, just to make him jealous, he then snorted, laughing like a maniac.

"It's _not_funny!"

"Fuck it is! It's the most hilarious thing I've experienced lately!"

Two insults later, and they were at each other's throats again, though the fight wasn't as menacing as it had been earlier. But anyway, not long time after it knocked loudly on the door, as two deep voices from the other side of it presented themselves as being from the NY Police Department. Fuck! They've been that loud again? And then just when the fight had turned in a good direction where one of them would have ended naked beneath the other on the floor, on the sofa or simply up against the wall. Fucking police coming just at the wrong of times. Zoro swore that he saw the blond pout, clearly unsatisfied to be disturbed as well, as he let in the two cops to come in and scold them, again.

SL-SL-SL-SL

Zoro came back home from custody the next day, though they had told the two cops that their fight was nothing big, the two men had chosen not to believe them and forced Zoro along with them. How come that they always saw _him_ as a threat? Okay, that might be because of he was known among the police in his earlier days, back then when he had been a full member of a school-gang. But he had been freaking twelve, learned his lesson at age thirteen, and before he ever turned fourteen he had been out of it again. When things started to hurt his parents, he stopped. His father had been sick and didn't need to hear shitty stories about his only son. Zoro had just needed to have release from his frustrations, which had been the only reason to that he had been in a gang; he always got relief by beating the hell shit out of other people.

He still stood at the door, shoes still on, as he watched his blond sitting in the sofa watching some kind of movie Zoro didn't know of. He didn't even greet him, not even looked his way. Sanji was all nice dressed out, like he was going out or something. As he hadn't moved for a whole ten minutes, just standing there and stared at the one his heart arched for to touch, hold against him, kiss him, just sit there in the sofa with him and watch that movie, forgetting about all this shit, erasing this fucking barrier there were growing in between them again. Hadn't it been for those to freaking cops, it would have been erased by yesterday.

Sanji looked up over his shoulder with an unreadable expression, before he looked back at the screen.

"I'm going out with Ace tonight," he said, almost like speaking with his boyfriend was the most boring thing in the world.

Zoro wanted to scream. His heart made a weird twist, as something was about to grow in his throat, ready to choke him.

"Oh," he looked away, and didn't see the disappointed look there turned his way for that cold answer. As he looked back, the blond moved up, turning off the television.

"Got a problem?"

Zoro shrugged. He was tired, tired of all this bickering '_Why__just__not__show__him__that__you__trust__him?_'

"Actually, no. Do whatever you want." Sanji turned to look at him surprised.

"Really? You don't? You're not afraid of that I'll go cheating on you or something?"

"Is that your intention?"

"No!"

"Then there's no problems, are there?"

Sanji chuckled, as he let out a relieved sigh, scratching the back of his neck. "Thanks, dude,"

"Whatever," the iron-worker mumbled, toeing out of his sneakers while he at the same time hung his jacket on the rag. He turned to face him, pointing a finger at him "Just stop sounding like him, will ya?" Sanji snickered, hands deep in his pockets as he surged for his packet with cigarettes. Finally finding them and lit one up, he stepped up behind the green-haired man, who was moving out towards the kitchen.

"Oi, Zoro." Said person turned around, the word 'what' barely leaving his lips, before said lips was captured in a gentle kiss. He stood frozen, surprised none the least. As the blond pulled back, there was a bright reassured smile on his face.

"Thank you."

SL-SL-SL-SL

"Oi, your _boyfriend_ has arrived," he almost spits the words out, as the raven man steps inside. Just the mere presence of that, _man_, fuels him up once again. Sanji freezes, surprised to hear the menazing spit of the words. They'd been up fighting just a little again, but he didn't knew that the other was this pissed, that only pissed him off even more. Ace too looks up surprised, but with a big smile plastered on his face.

"Oh, Sanji-dear, have we already taken that step further?" he says teasingly, and hadn't it been that Zoro was pissed like hell at the moment, he would have laughed his ass off as the blond blushed and snapped back a "NO!"

"Seems like there is tensions in the air," Ace looks from the one infuriating man to the other "something wrong?"

"Yes!" the two of them says at the same time, and points at one another "Him!"

"Ah," the raven says wisely, and Zoro swears that there's a happy sadistic smile tucking at the corner of the idiots lips "Well, that explains a lot. Then I just came at the right time to take away the one of you," Sanji had moved long before Ace had finished his sentence, and was almost ripping his jacket off the rag as the iron-worker more like yelled at him, than answering Ace's question.

"Yeah, just take that fucker out of here so I can think clearly!"

"Ha! _You_'think'?" Sanji spat back, not wanting to turn around to face his furious lover, who were ready to explode at any moment. His heart made a painful twitch; the heck had they _now_been fighting about…? Fuck, he didn't even remember, and it made him even angrier for not remembering. "You can't even find your way out of your own pants, so don't overload your so-called _brain_to even make a human _task_!"

"The fuck was that?"

"You damn hell heard me, shit-head!"

"Should we leave?" Ace asked quietly, as he tried to keep the blond from storming back into the apartment to attack his green-haired 'room-mate'. "It might help out if the two of you gets some time away from each other to cool down."

Sanji panted heavily as he glared back into two dark cold eyes, "Yeah, let's leave," he stared at Zoro for a whole two seconds longer, before he pushed away from the raven, and stomped out of the apartment, leaving Ace and Zoro for the first time alone in the same room.

Ace turned around to face the crossed iron-worker when he had assured that the blond were out of the reach to hear them, and smirked. "Watch it that you wont dig your own grave, Roronoa~,"

Zoro's hands clenched hard, his knuckles literally turned white- "_Leave!_" he growled out, and had to keep his standing from not ripping the man's throat out, as said man stepped up close to him, not caring a shit in the world about that he was playing with his life. He only stopped right in the face of the other, their noses almost touching.

"You have already lost, _Zoro_," he said coolly, a smile growing on his lips as he pointed onto his chest. He could almost touch the thick anger radiating from this man "I can give him anything what he wants, at any time. You," he chuckled "You're just a poor "iron-worker", a handy-man who'll take any kind of low-paid job, and still you barely can pay for your own toilet paper."

"Watch it, Portagas…!" Zoro warned him, every cell in his body straining him back from planting a fist in this asses face, and it was getting even harder as the man fucking _laughed_at him.

"What? Is the truth ill heard? No, Roronoa, you're loosing him… and I'm winning him," his wide smile was almost matching Luffy's impossible wide confident smile "Keep on acting like a psycho, and I'll gain him even fast-"

A fist to his jaw cut him off from any word he would have said next, though the blow would have send any normal man into a unconscious state, Ace only stood up from the floor where he had landed, chuckling even more at him, as he rubbed his chin. Two brown eyes looked satisfied up at him.

"As I told you before; you're digging your own grave,"

"OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

Ace chuckled as he left the apartment, sending him a knowing look over the shoulder as the door almost burst as it was slammed shut right behind him. Oh, Roronoa was so easy to get mad that it was even fun. Adjusting the hat on his head, he followed the steps his infuriate blond had taken moments earlier. _His_blond. Yes, Sanji would soon become his… he was slowly getting into him… he already had him in his hands.

He almost burst out laughing as he heard something get destroyed in the apartment he had come from. Of course he knew about the two of them… but the two of them would soon be history!

"You're damn hell taking your fucking sweet time!" The blond growled as he came walking out the building, hands deep in his pockets. Sanji stood at his bike –he had especially chosen the Harley Davidson so the blond was forced to sit close against him. Ace smiled apologetic and rubbed his neck.

"Sorry, would just say 'goodbye' to Zoro up there, but, I think he got a bit pissed at me," As if on cue, they both saw a chair coming flying out the window, turning into firewood as it smashed to the ground. Sanji growled as he stared up at their apartment.

"That fuck-head, if he destroys my kitchen, I'll fillet him the moment I get back home, and serves him fried to Luffy!" he cursed under his breath "At least he had the decency to open the window before throwing anything out of it,"

"I'm standing and gets hungry by listening to you," Ace said as he brought the machine into life, handing him the extra helmet "Shall we?" Sanji rolled his eyes, and puffed on the cigarette there lazily had been hanging from his lips, crunching the remains under his sole before he ripped the helmet out of his hands.

"Let's get the hell out of here,"

As he felt the blonds' arms circling around him to hold onto him for dear life as they drove down the streets, Ace couldn't keep his satisfied smile hidden any longer.

Zoro had already lost.

…Sanji was _his_!

SL-SL-SL-SL

He propped his head up with an arm, one leg hanging lousily down as he half-sat in the windowsill, watching the dark streets underneath him, there only were lit up by the streetlamps. Tipping the teaspoon in his mouth rapidly, it stopped immediately as he frowned down at the interaction happening down on the streets, right outside the apartment building. Ace's bike stood underneath one of the streetlamps, Sanji stood leaning up against the machine while smoking a cigarette. The blonds' head hang low as fingers not holding the cigarette ran through his hair; shoulders sagged and trembled, as was he either crying… or something.

Then his stance suddenly changed as moments later Ace came into view. The window was open just a little, so therefore he just barely could hear their murmuring voices from down bellow. He almost fell off the windowsill as a chair suddenly came flying down from above, and destroyed into thousand pieces as it hit the ground. The two men stood there, looking up above this apartment, before they sat up on the bike, and the machine roared in the silent hours of darkness, before it went off into the night.

"He's changed," he said more likely to himself than to anyone else. Usopp looked up from the papers he was working with, blinking a couple of times.

"Who?"

Luffy sighed, scratching his head. "Ace,"

"Ace?"

Nodding, he jumped down from the windowsill, but didn't move away from it, nor did he look away. They have been able to hear the turmoil from upstairs. Sanji. Zoro. And Ace. No kidding when they said that the walls have ears. Whenever they were yelling or screaming, you would be able to hear it either you lived beside the apartment, above it, or as Usopp; right underneath it. The longnosed engineer-student even claimed to sometimes being able to hear their "nightly activities", but Luffy didn't really believe that. Sure the walls and ceilings were thin… but not _that_thin.

"He never was like this before," he looked at his friend's image in the glass of the window, the mirror-like image showing that he was looking up at him, the pencil in his hand had stopped it's dance over the paper "He has changed, a lot,"

Usopp blinked again, it was very unusual to hear the else so ever-happy raven being this serious.

"Changed how?" seemed like that he couldn't do anything other than questioning things tonight, maybe he was too tired? The raven didn't answer him. "Luffy?"

"He's obsessed," '_in__Sanji,_' he wanted to say. Ever since the blond chef had come into their life, it was like his older brother had changed his personality a lot. He could take his earlier encounters, his "bad habits", but this… this was going way too far.

"Hey, Usopp," he said moments later, not even been listening to the others worried questions. Said person silenced at once, teaspoon still in the raven's mouth as he turned around to look depressingly at him. "Don't you have anything more to eat? I'm still hungry~!" he whined. Usopp almost fell off the sofa at the sudden change of attitude. Gaping, he suddenly shook himself out of his shock and screamed at him, pencil pointing accusingly at him.

"Idiot! You've just ate everything that I own, don't come and tell me that you're still hungry! I don't even have a single crumble to eat for breakfast tomorrow morning!"

The teacher's stomach rumbled in answer, Usopp slapped his face, mumbling 'wandering black pit' under his breath.

"By the way, a second thing," he said, sighing. The rocking spoon in the raven's mouth halted for a moment, as he made a sound of that he was listening. Usopp took a deep breath before he hammered the pencil down onto the table, "WHY THE HELL DO _I_HAVE TO CORRECT YOUR STUDENTS ESSAYS FOR YOU? I got my own essays to write for the exam, you know!"

Luffy's smile grew wide as he chuckled.

"Because that you're a great friend! You'll make both of it for sure! And beside," he walked up beside his friend, clapping his shoulder a bit too hard, making the other winze "you're just so good at it!" Usopp almost felt a drop of sweat make its way down his neck.

"Just admit that it's because that you don't want to, and instead want to rape my poor refrigerator,"

Luffy laughed, slapping him some more.

"You know me too well, Usopp! Haha!"

"At least have the decency to deny it, idiot!"

SL-SL-SL-SL

The scratching noise from the TV filled the apartment as a hypnotising sound. The black and white snow on the screen made the light in the room flicker. It was the only source of light -beside the weak lights from the streets-, everywhere else in the apartment it was dark. Any normal person knowing that they had pressed onto an empty channel, would change back to a channel were either the movies, shows or the news ran over the screen. But Zoro didn't care. For him, he could see much more on this flickering screen; it shoved him his life so far, he could see it all as was it running over the screen like a movie, or so he told himself.

His inner movie was about Sanji, nothing but Sanji. How they met, how they loved, how they just sat in the sofa watching a movie, enjoying each others company. Then it came into the middle of the movie, the 'action' in it, because every movie had such. It was when Ace came into their life, twisted it, turned it, and slowly was ruining it.

Zoro so much wanted to see how this movie would end, but it was one of those there said; _Will__be__continued._

No answers, only questions… guesswork.

Would there ever _be_an ending for this horrible fucked-up movie? Or would the questions for the continuing just keep hanging unanswered in the air, like too many movies were doing these days? Just look at *'_Eragon_' '_The__Airbender__ –__The__movie_' and '_The__Golden__Compass_'. Movies with only the first movie running over the screen, but never made to make a movie two.

Zoro growled and finally turned off the screen, turning off the strongest source of the light in the apartment. He threw the remote control onto the table, and leaned exhausted back into the sofa. Arms behind his head he watched the light from the city outside, lighting up the room just a little. He was tired, but not sleepy. The worry for the blond being with that asshole in this very moment gnawed on his conscious.

What were they doing?

Was Sanji okay?

Of course he was. Sanji was a grown-up man, able to take care of himself. He had promised… he should learn to trust him a bit more than he already did. He always _had_done that…but since that freckled fire worker came into their life, he didn't know what he should do anymore. Even that sickening side of him were gnawing at his mind; he wanted to hurt Ace for even just looking at Sanji, he wanted, yes, almost kill him, he even caught himself in wanting to hurt Sanji for being so stupid, blind and naïve for how the man really was. He wanted to lock into a room where no one could touch him, where he would be safe, and only _his._ Zoro shock his head and scratched his hair. No, god no! He was even starting to sound like his uncle.

'_How__horrible__can__I__get?_'

_Was_he really that envious at his lover?

"_Not__trusting__me,__Ma-ri-mo?_"

"Of course I do," Zoro answered as the blond sat closer against him, a playful finger running up along the scar crossing his chest. When had he taken off his shirt? Had he even _had_a shirt on to begin with? Sanji hummed while his long fingers gently felt out the raw cut in the skin, knowing how much it enthralled the other, it was the iron-workers most sensitive place.

"_You__scared__the__hell__shit__out__of__me__with__this__one,_" the blond said depressingly, a bit of anger hanged in edge of his voice "_honestly__never__thought__that__you__would__survive__when__I__saw__you__… __the__accident__was__…__stupid,__reckless,_"

Zoro sighed as those deft hands crawled their way up, sneaking around his neck. Sanji sighed as well as the iron-worker pulled up his blue shirt, his strong fingers finding their way up underneath it to touch the sweet alabaster skin.

"_You__'__re__being__stupid__again,_" the blond murmured, slowly moving to sit in his lap, a knee planted at each side of the iron-worker, as the chef leaned his forehead against his, panting, bathing his face with hot, arousing air as he inhaled and exhaled. Two shining lustful blue orbs looked straight into his.

"Hmm-, whad'ya mean…?" he asked, his voice thick with desire, licking the others jaw. Sanji sighed, enjoying being slowly 'eaten' by this man. He licked his dry lips, swallowed, and then caught Zoro's teasing tongue between his teeth, sucking on it. Releasing it, tongues played, teased, and tasted each other.

"_You__shouldn__'__t__trust__me,_" the blond whispered with a seducing voice, his lips brushing the others lips.

"Oh? I shouldn't?" he asked playfully, a brow moving up in question. Sanji hummed as Zoro kissed him, sloppy, needing, lustful kisses.

"_You__shouldn__'__t,_" he panted. Zoro couldn't stop kissing him, he couldn't stop tasting him. God, it felt like they hadn't seen each other for years. He wanted to hold him, sit like this just kissing each other, make love with him, fuck him, just… get lost into his oh so beautiful blue eyes, his enthralling serene smell of food, musk, sex and Sanji.

"Why not?" he whispered into the chef's ear, playing along in what he only could consume being one of the blonds' teasing games.

A chuckle sounded in his other ear, a chuckle that he knew all too well of, but it didn't belong to the blond. "_Because__he__'__s__already__mine__…_" he leaned back to take a look at his lover. Ace stared back at him with his stupid self-satisfied smile widening even more "…_Roronoa__…__!_"

Zoro tumbled off the bed as he woke up with a loud scream leaving his throat. He looked surprised around in the dark room to find either of the men.

None.

He was alone.

'_A__dream?_'

It had been nothing but a dream.

Palming his face Zoro groaned at the arching feeling in his chest, and the horrible taste in his mouth. Had he been drinking again? Fuck, he couldn't even remember it. Normally he would be able to remember that he even had opened a bottle, but not this time. When the hell had he started to drink his brain out?

'_Not__that__you__had__one__to__begin__with,__shitty__asshole,_" Sanji's voice snickered at him in the back of his mind, he groaned at the voice and almost could hear it laugh back at him. Speaking about the blond -he looked up at the digital watch there already shoved 02.15 am

'_Where__'__s__that__damn__curl-brow?__He__'__s__late,_' he thought as he tried to stand up, his legs still felt wobbly. Being in a state like this, head throbbing like a mad, he wondered how the hell he had been able to even find his way back into the bedroom from the living room. Finally getting his footing he moved out to get something to drink, coffee maybe, or cola, just something with caffeine in it, and which could eliminate that horrible taste in his mouth.

He stopped in the middle of the room as he meant that he heard something. Listening carefully, he heard the front door go up, followed by the sounds of low giggles and snorting hushes.

"_Shh,__not__so__loud_," it was Sanji's whispering voice before he tried to stifle a giggle "_or__you__'__ll__wake__him__up,_"

"_Sorry,__sorry,_" he heard Ace whisper back, having an even bigger time to stop his giggles.

Zoro stood still, calmed his breathing in order to hear the other two even better. He should just walk out, greet them, maybe pick up a little fight with his blond, funny enough he felt really in the mood for a fight. But… there were just something there held him back, there told him to stand quit and listen.

"…_time__is__it?_" Sanji.

"_Ah,_" silence "_a__bit__past__two__in__the__morning,__I__guess?__"_ Shitty Ace.

"What? That much?" the blond now said louder than he had intended to. The two of them fell into silence for a moment, as were they listening to hear anyone else beside themselves, not hearing anything or anyone they sighed in relief. Zoro lifted a brow. What? Were they scared of him knowing?

'_Damn__hell__they__should__too!_'

'_Shut__up,__you__'__re__not__his__mom!__He__'__s__a__grown-up,__an__adult.__He__knows__how__to__take__care__of__himself!__You__should__just__trust__him__a__bit__better!_'

'_Urgh,__great!__Now__I__'__m__standing__and__having__an__inner__monologue__with__myself!_'

"_Fuck,__he__'__s__going__to__kill__me__if__he__finds__out__that__I__'__ve__been__out__this__late,_" Sanji's voice suddenly said, disrupting the iron-worker from having a mental conversation with himself.

"_What?__He__'__s__not__your__mother,__is__he?_"

'_Wow,__the__man__**can**__read__my__mind.__Scary._'

Zoro moved closer for the door, his curiosity couldn't leave it to only listen to what was going on outside their bedroom-door, he wanted to see, damn it, he just wanted to take a look. Murmurs was heard, shuffles of feet and then suddenly a thud, as had something been pushed up against the wall, or something like that.

"The fuck you're-Mm?"

Zoro's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly heard silence, then shuffles of clothes, movements, and then the sound of something sloppy, like they were-

He couldn't make his thoughts stretch themselves that far, for that word. He moved faster… and suddenly froze in the opening of the door at the sight meeting him.

At the kitchen there was a wall splitting it from the hallway leading down to the bathroom. The wall was about a four feet long, if measuring it from the kitchen island. Sanji was pressed up against that wall, body frozen in the mid of a motion, arms still halfway up to either hold or push away the raven in front of him. He couldn't see the blonds' face, but he damn hell could both _see_AND _hear_what the fuck they were doing, and it didn't help any better that the freckled man's face were completely previewed for him, since it faced his way.

Ace. Were. _Kissing_. Sanji.

Freaking. _Kissing.__**His**__.__Blond_!

Apparently sensing being watched, Ace's eyes looked up to lock with Zoro's shocked ones. Instead of immediately pulling away and apologizing, the fucking fire worker smiled wide, and fucking hell used his _tongue_ to deepen the kiss. Sanji moaned and melted into the kiss. All earlier struggles died away at once, as Ace pressed himself closer up against the blond, pinning him fully to the wall, running his hands up and down along Sanji's sides.

Zoro's brain had stopped functioning. He were caught between stomping towards them, rip the fucker off _his__boyfriend_, _his__man_, throw him out the window and give Sanji a good loud fight, and to just stand there, staring like it was the first time he'd seen two humans in the same room. Even though he wanted to move, he couldn't, his body was frozen, feet iced to the ground, as he felt his jaw dropping even more.

Ace where fucking _snickering_at _him_, as he tilted his head a little to get another angle in their kiss.

Anger boiling up, after overcoming the shock, Zoro's fist –there apparently had moved itself up to hold the doorframe in a tight grasp- clenched so hard that the wood literally moaned and cracked under his trembling fingers.

He had more than enough of this shit!

Instead of doing either the first or the second thing, he did a complete unexpected third thing. As he turned promptly on his heel, fighting with himself whether or not to smack the door shut, coming to the conclusion to close it quietly was safer, he swore that he heard Ace giggle in triumph.

Zoro threw himself onto the bed, not caring that he still were wearing his clothes on. Shit! Damn shitty mother fucker son of a bloody bitch! Why the heck hadn't he done the first thing? Well, killing the man wouldn't help him anywhere closer to Sanji, instead it might ruin what little they had left completely. And he didn't want that. He wanted to be with his blond, love him, have cosy days with him, piss him off, make fun of him, getting pissed off, and fight each other without wanting to really hurt the other too badly. The idea of locking him up into a room and never let him come out again, frighteningly enough sounded more like a tempting great idea.

He wanted his Sanji back. He loved that man; he never in his life had had such strong feelings to another person before, never had he let his guard down to anyone other than to this blond, never had he laid his heart and soul in someone else's hands, not even in his previously girlfriends hands, not even Nami's.

Zoro _was_literally _madly__in__love_ in the blond, on a way that even started to scare himself.

Therefore he wouldn't give up. He didn't want to give up the man who helped him pull him out of the shit he had been in. Just because that fucker had won this fight… didn't mean that he had won the whole war! He would let this slip, just for this once, and then… then he would get ready for fight.

The creaking door pulled him out of his own train of thoughts –he even had planned the raven's trip to Alaska with one smooth kick, he would really enjoy seeing Sanji kick him away like that-, as someone entered the room carefully. He didn't turn around to see, he knew who it was… and immediately the picture from earlier burned in his memories again; Sanji pressed up against the wall, kissed, almost violated by that fucking Ace's mouth, and hell; he even looked like he were enjoying it.

'_Am__I__loosing__him?__Is__he__really__…__?__No,__don__'__t__think__like__that._'

'_But__he__let__him__kiss__him!_'

'…_argh__…__fuck__…__!_'

"Z…Zoro…?" he was startled to hear that careful, fearful question almost being whispered out. He didn't turn around, just listened. He couldn't bear looking at him now. Not now, maybe tomorrow… maybe.

SL-SL-SL-SL

He was suddenly pressed up against the wall. He tried to get the other off him, scream at him, yell at him, kick him so hard that he would break some bones in him. But then that mouth had insisted, something, deep inside of him, had awakened, something there liked this daring, wanted this forbidden kiss. His hands moved, hopelessly in the others shirt, forgetting why they even were there, the leg he had moved up to kick the other in the back, slowly lost its power and slowly went down back to the ground. It felt so nice, his hands even started to drop down, letting go of the fabric, as that wonderful feeling over floated him. Closing his eyes he let himself being carried away, as that wonderful mouth kissed him, tasted him and –oh god, those hands! Fuck, those hands moved along his sides, up and down, slowly, passionately, thumbs massaging him all the way up and back down again, before the hands moved behind his back. The head tilted to kiss him deeper, and he couldn't stop himself from slowly working his mouth along the other, kissing him back. Something back in his drunken mind roared _WRONG!__WRONG!_ But he couldn't stop himself from enjoying these strange forbidden lips.

He hadn't felt loved for such a long time, his body, fuck, his _mouth__screamed_for attention. Zoro hadn't let him get close to him lately, the kiss this evening –shit, Zoro didn't even turn around to kiss him back as he had hoped for. He had felt abandoned, hurt…but… how could it be that just a smile from that man could cover all that up? He didn't know why, only… that he at any rate were at that man's mercy.

He was aware of that he was being a tan too loud, but, fuck if he cared right now.

Was this even right?

'_No__it__'__s__not!__It__'__s__NOT!__Pull__away!__Beat__him!__Fuck,__kick__his__skull__in!__WRONG__WRONG!_'

'_No,__it__'__s__not__wrong.__It__'__s__nice__ –__god__he__'__s__good__with__those__lips._'

'_And__what__the__fuck__about__Zoro?__You__know__this__write__ '__CHEATING__' __with__big__black__fat__letters,__right?_'

'_Mmm~__… __god~,__those__lips__… __hands__… __it__'__s__like__he__'__s__on__fire._'

'_Stop,__stop,__stop,__STOP!_'

He bolted back to consciousness as a hand had sneaked down to grab his groin to squeeze it. His eyes widened at once, as he realised what the fuck he was letting the other man do to him.

"What the _fuck_?" Ace stumbled as he was roughly being shoved away, and almost fell over a chair standing behind him. Panting, Sanji glared at him with as much menacing as he could prestige, feeling like he'd been violated by the other, or something. Could you even feel violated if you let the other do whatever stuff they did to you? He felt something running down his jaw, drying it off with the backside of his hand he saw that it was saliva. Same saliva, he now saw, ran down the raven's mouth.

He wanted to run to the bathroom, to throw up his whole inside into the toilet.

Dirty!

Dirty _Slut_!

"Sanji?" Ace asked carefully, truly sounding worried, as he stepped closer towards him, drying away the wetness off his face. Ace barely managed to step back in time before a long slender black leg swang out towards him with much manacing power. "Wait I-"

"_Don__'__t_you even _dare_to come closer!" he warned, feeling angry, furious, pissed, trapped and suddenly too vulnerable, it only fuelled him even more.

"Sanji I'm-"

"Don't you _dare_touch me!" the blond hissed dangerously, holding up a hand, motioning him to not come any closer. If he did, it only would mean his dead.

Ace sighed desperately. "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know that you weren't into," he pointed from himself to the blond. Sanji, slowly collecting himself enough to not scream at the other, shook his head.

"It's not that," he said some times later, still panting, his hands were even starting to shaking. He wanted to yell at the man for ever had dared to kiss him, wanting to kick him for letting him feeling this way to him. His heart beat faster. He wanted to blame him, but of course, Ace didn't know about him and Zoro, what they had. The only one he could blame was no other but himself. He wanted to kick himself, hurt himself for _cheating_.

'_Cheating__whore!_'

"Then what? You're not in any relationship with a woman, are you?"

'_Can__'__t__lie__to__him__either__ –__Zoro__would__spit__fire__if__he__knew__that__I__'__ve__referred__him__as__being__a__woman,_'

"No,"

"Then what's the problem?" the raven asked, daring to step closer.

"_Don__'__t!_" he warned him through gritted teeth again, moving a hand up to stop him. Ace stepped back at once, blinking, then looked down ashamed, rubbing his head in frustration as he'd realised what he'd just done, Sanji thought. His orange cowboy hat had at some point ended on the floor.

"Argh, damn it! Sorry dude, I didn't mean to, I mean –damn, I shouldn't have been drinking that much,"

"Ace, just go, get some sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow, next day. Some day, not now." The raven looked up surprised.

"You're, not mad at me?"

Sanji turned for the kitchen island, feeling tired all of a sudden. "Just… go for now, please?"

Ace grabbed his hat, putting it on his head he went for the door. He stopped just before he leaved the apartment "I'm sorry, dude," with that said, he left.

As the door closed, Sanji at once felt the guilt choking him, he knocked his head down on the kitchen island several times. Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why had he been so stupid and leaned more into it? Why had he ever let Ace…? He couldn't even say that word. It stung, it hurt. _Fucker_! He was a damn stupid mother fucking dirty _slut_! He hadn't even realised that he had started to rip in his own hair, before the roots burned in pain in his scalp. Sanji released the hair and just laid there on the kitchentable, feeling more than miserably.

Then, suddenly he remembered that he weren't at all alone in the apartment. Sanji silenced and looked horrified at the bedroom-door. Had Zoro heard anything? Had he seen anything at all?

He had never before felt such angst to the man he loved, but now, even his legs were starting to shake ever so slightly.

Braving himself, Sanji moved slowly for the bedroom. Opening the door and looking in, he found his lover fast asleep on their bed. "Z… Zoro…?" he asked carefully in a barely inaudible whisper, wanting to wake him up, yet at the same time didn't want to. He stood for a moment, watching the still form of the man he just had cheated. _Cheater_! The word tasted horrible in his mouth. But _had_he cheated on him? Both yes and no. It wasn't like that he had slept with the man, right? So, a fucking stupid kiss in a drunken moment, Ace had said sorry, so it was unlikely that it would happen again…right? Ace wasn't gay, he was straight as an arrow. Sanji had only turned gay because he fell in love in one single moss for brain of a muscle-head… right…?

Shit, everything felt so fucked up all of a sudden.

Sanji toed out of his shoes, undressed himself down to his shorts, and carefully swept underneath the quilt, into the heat of his lover. Zoro didn't move to turn around; he normally did when he came into bed, holding him into his broad chest, asleep or not. He lay there, stared at the back of his lover, not even sure if he would be able to face this man just yet since the guilt still clenched inside of his chest. He let his finger travel down his spine, revealing a light shiver, halting, he looked up.

"Zoro?"

No answer. He sighed, closing the distance between the two of them, he nuzzled into the warm back of his lover, but didn't fall asleep immediately. Listening to the quiet sounds of Zoro's small breathing, Sanji's mind raced, thinking of everything… and nothing at the same time.

"I'll make it up for you," he whispered to the silent back, laying a flat hand against it. "Starting from tomorrow morning, I'll listen to you a bit more often, appreciate it, moss-head," he chuckled a little, but there were no humour in his voice. Clenching his fist in the others shirt, he leaned in to kiss the iron-worker's neck, and then leaned his forehead against the same spot.

"…I'm sorry…"

SL-SL-SL-SL

"You're awfully nice today," the iron-worker said, a bit suspicious about the blonds' sudden change of behaviour, as he sat down at the kitchen island. Sanji chuckled as he turned the last pancake on the pan, smiling to himself.

"You too," he said over his shoulder "what's up with suddenly giving me a blowjob as a 'hello, good morning'?" he turned around to point a spatula at him, a smile pulling up the one corner of his lips "I fucking freaked out when I woke up to my dick being full hard, and you sucking on it like it was the best candy you've ever tasted!"

"Oh? But it _was_the best I've ever tasted," Zoro answered with a sly smirk while licking his lips, his chin propped up by a hand as he watched his blond rolling his eyes at him, as he turned around to flip the last pancake onto a plate, before bringing both of them to the kitchen island where his lover was waiting. Sanji was more than happy. Zoro hadn't neither heard nor seen anything of what had happened in the night, by the look of him, and even Sanji was slowly forgetting about it, like it all just had been some weird horrible dream. They didn't even talk about yesterday, or the day before that, and he didn't want to ruin anything to take up one of those subjects.

Sanji would never admit it out loud, but he was afraid… afraid for what little relationship they had left to get destroyed completely. He didn't want to loose him, and hell he knew it sound more than pathetic in his own ears as well, but Zoro was all what he wanted. No matter how horrible they looked like together on the outside, inside his heart couldn't bare to think about what would happen if he ever lost him. If Zoro ever choosed to leave him. Maybe search for him till the end of his days? '_Have__I__really__become__this__addicted__to__that__moss-ball?__That__'__s__almost__scary._' Scary, but none the less the truth.

But, he wondered, did Zoro still love him as much as he had done before all this shit have happened, or had he already ruined far too much for it to be saved? Zoro _had_changed somehow, he acted more protective, more aggressive than ever. Sometimes Sanji barely could recognize the Zoro he'd once known. When the man self realised his own change of behaviour, he silenced, clearly embarrassed, either locked himself into a room, sulked I a corner or took a ran out in the streets, jogging. He could better think when he was running, he once had told him, he clearly must have a lot on his mind recently. Zoro had started to jogging more often and longer at a time. Sanji feared that it all was _his_fault.

He shook his head, not wanting to think of those things in the moment, and instead pulled a smile at hearing the iron-worker's words.

"I swear!" he said, chuckling "I won't even be able to look at a freaking _kid_eating their loppipop, without seeing you sucking my dick in my mind!"

Zoro snorted, then snickered, almost getting choked in his own pancake, as he had intended to eat one before the plate even had touched the table.

Sanji furrowed his brows. "Oi! Don't laugh with your mouth full of food, idiot!" He scolded, only making it harder for the other to swallow the pancake correctly.

"Bwaha!"_Cough!_ "S-sorry, hehe!" he coughed again, unable to stop laughing at the same time.

"What's so funny anyway?" The blond asked carefully, as he took place beside his lover at the kitchen island, adding some marmalade to his own pancakes.

"Y-you," Zoro said, pointing at him with a fork. Sanji quirked a brow, fork with a piece of pancake on it halted just an inch from his mouth.

"What the fuck? What's so funny about me? Looking for a fight or something?" Zoro shook his head, hammering his hand against his chest.

"You said 'loppipop'! HAHA!"

Sanji blinked, thought, then blushed as he repeated his own words in his mind, his chins turning beat red, as he tried to eat his pancakes, but got even more red in the face as the man beside him couldn't stop laughing. "Sh-shut the hell up, marimo!"

"Hehe… 'loppipop', hah!" Sanji tackled the laughing man to the floor, thinking twice before he moved his leg to kick the man, he instead grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a deep kiss, making the man freeze at once. Well, _that_most defiantly helped him to shut the hell up.

SL-SL-SL-SL

It was unusual for Zoro working at Saturdays as well, but his boss had called him in to work six days a week lately, since they had a time-limit to finish the office-building they were working at. The opening was already in a week, and since the iron-worker practically had a skill for everything, he was called in to help with basically anything. It tired the man off completely; sometimes he was close to collapse before he even made it over the threshold. Sanji had even told him to give it a break sometimes, but the green-haired man refused, and it made the blond frustrated that the man was holding something back for him.

Sanji for a change had a day off, and had nothing planned to do for the day. So, instead of lazing around like a certain iron-worker could do, he took a good look at the things around him, seeing that it most defiantly needed a huge clean-up. There were several hours to Zoro would come home, so dinner wasn't needed to make ready just yet.

He turned on the stereo, turned up the volume and cleaned to the bass of the music. Snickering as he thought closer about it, he couldn't stop thinking at himself looking more like a housewife than anything else, just needed to kiss 'her man' at the door as he came home from work.

Oh wait, he already did that… in the 'earlier days'. Sanji grumbled, and wanted to kick the voice to the moon there so shamefully laughed at him in the back of his mind.

'_But__hell,__I__'__m__not__the__one__taking__the__garbage,__washing__the__windows__and__cleans__the__toilet,_' snickering at the mental picture of Zoro standing with a toilet brush in one hand, and a swapper in the other, while wearing a nice little pink apron, Sanji didn't mind cleaning the living room, kitchen and the bedroom anymore. Thinking twice, he thought that he wanted to be nice to the guy and washed the windows as well. The toilet? No way, that was_his_ job.

'_Next__betting__is__in__the__next__month,__I__might__end__up__with__the__toilet__anyway,__no__need__to__rush__it,__bwah~!__'_ he shivered by the thought of it, and wrenched the cloth to wash the third window.

He had made it to wash the outside of them as well, as he heard the stereo being turned off. Ah, typical Zoro, not manhandling the noise of music after work. Sanji looked up at the watch hanging in the kitchen, looking through the open window.

"I didn't know that you'd got home this early," he said over his shoulder, using the window scraper to remove the water on the window "so I haven't really prepared anything yet." He frowned as he suddenly felt a snowflake hitting the back of his head. Just great, he'd just finished the last window, with much effort since the cold wind had frozen the water on it and had therefore to clean it little by little, and now it would snow?

"Did you know?" he continued as the snowflakes behind him made their way into the apartment, making him remember what they'd got with the mail just a few hours ago. He literally danced around the window, to close the huge glass, shutting out the snow and cold. "We've got an invitation to a Christmas-party –Franky's inviting!" He grumbled as the knob didn't want to get down, and used force, making the metal and plastic creak as it suddenly cooperated.

"I'm excited to see how _that__'__ll_ turn out like." He chuckled, brushing his hands off in his jeans "You know how much that lumberjack loves Hawaii and thus kind of exotic stuff, right? Hehe, wonder if there'll be Coconuts and big flowers, but I think that sweet Robin will hold him in his ears so it'll become a _real_Christmas Party. Honestly, I still don't see how a delicate woman such as Robin-dear could love such a ruff."

He went for the sink, emptying the wash tub for all its dirty water, then realised that Zoro hadn't even spoken up yet, and he himself had just been rambling all the time. He turned around to face the man "You're being awfully qui-" then froze as he saw who it was "-et…" the last word came out a long time after, as he blinked surprised at the person still standing at the stereo, hands deep in his pockets. Somehow he felt really embarrassed seeing the man. "Ace…"

Ace looked sheepishly up. "Hey,"

"Hey," greeted the blond lamely back. They stood there, stared at one another, before Sanji turned his back to him, glancing around in the kitchen for something to do. Sometimes he hated that he was such a perfectionist, that meant when he really needed it, his hands had nothing to do, and it didn't help either that he at the same time craved a smoke –he hadn't been smoking the whole freaking day either.

Trying to kill the withdrawing and occupy his itching fingers with something, Sanji started to find something forth to make a little dessert.

Ace stood at the stereo, watching the blond as he had stood for a long time in the kitchen, just stared into the wall, before he started to prepare cooking. He took off his hat and scratched his hair. "Look, about the other night, uhm, _this_night…"

Sanji froze immediately in pulling down the sugar from the cabin, before taking it down with a bit more force than needed.

"What about it,"

"I don't know how to explain it-"

"Then don't,"

"Look, Sanji,"

Sanji whirled around immediately, glaring at the raven, "What?" he spat out "What is it that I have to fucking hear, huh, Ace? _What_?"

The freckled man recoiled at the blonds' sudden outburst, blinking surprised, but then stepped forward, anger slowly boiling inside of him.

"I want to know about 'us', Sanji, _that__'__s_what I want to know!" he said, taking long strides to the kitchen where the blond stood, who backed away, not wanting to get near him. He thought, really he had thought that yesterday the blond finally had given in to him, but… it seemed like that bond of theirs was a bit stronger than he first had thought '_Just__need__a__sharper__knife__to__cut__it__then,_'

"And what's there to know?" the chef screamed back "Nothing!"

"Stop acting like you don't care!"

"I-" Sanji hadn't realised that he had gotten himself trapped in his own kitchen, before his heel hit the wall behind him, and the raven now stood right in front of him, an arm at each side of his head, trapping him fully. Somehow this position made him think of what happened last night, the closeness of the two of them, Ace's heated breath bathing his face, those lips, why the heck did those lips look so temptingly?

"There you have it," the raven said calmly, his cheek heating up "that look; I knew that I wasn't wrong,"

Sanji's heart beat faster as he looked up into those dark eyes, they weren't as dark and enthralling as Zoro's, close, but not close enough.

"What look are you talking about?" And why the heck did he suddenly sound so vulnerable? Why didn't he kick him away? _Had_the man even _been_drunk last night, since he acted the same way now as then?

"That look," he said, voice deep and full of desire, Sanji tried to press himself fully against the wall, like would he be able to go through it if he pressed hard enough.

"Ace, don't, I'm-" whatever he was going to say were cut off as those heated lips sealed over his. He was lost for a second, then he tried to push him away, squirming in the kiss, he tried to turn his head away, but Ace's hands grabbed hold of his arms, and pushed himself flush against the blonds' body. "Stop," he gasped, before his lips was caught in yet another heated kiss. He tried to fight, but how the hell could it be that this man was so much stronger than him all of a sudden? He knew from Luffy that Ace could beat his little brother in anything, and Luffy was to begin with a strong person, but… _this_much stronger?

"Stop running away, Sanji," he whispered into his ear, as he kissed down along his throat. Sanji looked up in the ceiling, lost, shocked to say the least. He knew that Ace liked him, but 'liked' like this? Never. If he had known, god, if he just had listened… already back then.

Ace's hands were literally everywhere on him, one even found it's way down in his pants, and that was what ripped him out of his shock, reawakening his anger. "Then stop running after me then!" he said through clenched teeth, and kneed him right in the guts. Ace coughed, bending forwards. Sanji immediately kneed him in the head, kicked him away so he flew backwards, hitting the sofa in the living room. Shit! The chair beside it even broke as the larger furniture had slid right into it.

Sanji found his cigarettes in one of the drawers, and lit himself one. "I don't know what you think that you're doing, Ace, but," he inhaled the long needed nicotine, held it for a moment down in his lungs, where he could feel the poison spreading out to relax his body and mind, before blowing the smoke out, feeling much more at ease "to tell you the truth," he stepped up to the sofa where Ace tried to pull himself up from that bone-cracking kick "I already _am_in a relationship with… _someone_,"

To his surprise Ace didn't look up shocked at him, instead he dried the blood away from his lips… and fucking _chuckled_.

"Shit, I already _know_that, Sanji," He said, smile suddenly appearing and widening "I knew that all along, about you and Zoro. You told me. Two days before you left, at that bar." he coughed and stood up so he stood face to face with the now surprised blond "I just thought that after what happened in Sweden, that I might have a chance,"

Sanji held in, the cigarette smoking on its own between his clenched teeth, he bit harder into the filter as he felt his heart making one deep painful beat.

"What are you talking about?" Ace moved his hand up to touch his face, but the hand was slapped away at once. He clenched his fist, and looked at the blond with an expression Sanji couldn't describe other than a hell of a lot of feelings mixing up at the same time, as the man sighed sadly.

"I thought so that you didn't remember anything of it at all, since you act like this,"

Sanji's heart started to beat even faster. There was something in the back of his mind there told him that he wouldn't like what was going to be said, and that Ace didn't even have to say it, because he somewhat had an horrible idear of what it could be, yet, he still asked.

"Like what? What are you talking about?"

Ace's lips pulled up in one corner.

"The night where we the first time had sex together…!"

The tip of the cigarette glowed red, before it fell to the ground, rolling underneath the turned over sofa, where it halted.

Sanji gasped.

"_W-what?_"

**~_To__be__continued_~**

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How can others trust you and your actions…

When you can't even trust yourself to walk straight?****

**_Crystalbluefox:_********_WTF?_**_Four____whole____days__where__NONE__has__not__even__taken__a__peek__at__any__of__my__stories?__and__two__reviews__for__this__story__so__far?__Come__on__girls__and__guys;__Please__give__us__some__credit,__yell,__spam,__flame,__ANYTHING!__We__would__just__really__like__to__hear__your__thoughts__about__this__story__so__far.__We__would__really__love__to__get__some__Reviews__and__Reviews._

_Wish__you__all__good!__Please__take__good__care!_

_Have__a__nice__sunday__^c^_

_Wishes__both__School__Escapee___

'_Eragon' and 'The Golden Compass' are movies created on books written by Christopher Paolini and Philip Pullman, where the first book have been filmed, and the production then completely stopped fully, after the movies hit the theatres and came out on DVD's. _

'_The last Airbender –The Movie' is a long series created on a cartoon, but apparently should be shared up into three movies, like the three books. It is also not for sure that the next two movies will be out as well._


	3. The Open of a Cold Winter

_**AN:**Gramps came up with a "great idea" this Friday. "Let's paint the whole house in your vacation!" …if you heard a loud CRACK it was just my jaw hitting through the pavement XD Sorry for the delay of this chapter everyone… but here it is, a day late, an understandable grandpa later (yeah, I only told him this very day about the contest, and wow, I didn't even thought that he would accept it or anything! So great! ^c^;) and me starting on a marathon-writing on the next chapter… five pages at day… now let's see if THAT'S possible XDD _

_Please enjoy the reading! _

Shattering Love

-A One Piece fan fiction

By

Crystal Blue Fox

And

School Escapee

**3. Chapter **

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**The Open of a Cold Winter**

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

"I thought so that you didn't remember anything of it at all, since you act like this,"

Sanji's heart started to beat even faster. There was something in the back of his mind there told him that he wouldn't like what was going to be said, and that Ace didn't even have to say it, because he somewhat had an horrible idear of what it could be, yet, he still asked.

"Like what? What are you talking about?"

Ace's lips pulled up in one corner.

"The night where we the first time had sex together…!"

The tip of the cigarette glowed red, before it fell to the ground, rolling underneath the turned over sofa, where it halted.

Sanji gasped.

"_W-what?_"

Ace was up in his face in an instant, Sanji hadn't even seen him moving, the only thing being moving though, was the whole place. He felt dizzy, sick, his stomach turned, but didn't threaten to empty itself… not yet. He didn't step back, he didn't move as the man moved his fingers through his blond hair, he just stood there, trying to remember how to breathe.

"What… the fuck, are you saying…?" he asks slowly, his eyes focusing on something there's not even in the room. His mind is far off from this time and place. He doesn't even feel as a hand runs over his scalp. Reality slaps him hard in the face, as he remember back, back at Vivi's party –he even can feel the stinging in his own hand again-, where he had slapped his lover in the face, for spouting out nonsense that he back then had refused hardly to ever had done...

"_Don__'__t__ever,__and__I__repeat,__" __he__said__in__a__dangerous__low__voice,__and__then__raised__it__in__a__roar,__not__caring__a__shit__about__that__the__people__from__the__party__behind__them__might__would__be__able__to__hear__him__ "__EVER__talk__like__that__I__'__ve__been__cheating__on__you,____**Zoro**____**Roronoa**_**!**_'__Cause__then__you__'__re__**fucking**____**out**____**of**____**your**____**freaking**____**mind**_!"

…but he had… he had…!

He felt limp all of a sudden, unaware of that he was breathing faster.

He had…? Hadn't he…?

'_Fuck,__no_!'

"I'm saying that I'm in love with you, Sanji." Ace whispered to him, closing the gab between the two of them, brushing his lips against the others. "From the first time I saw you, I knew that I would burn the world to ashes, just to have you for myself," he gave him a light kiss on the lips, taking Sanji's silence for a sign to go on, he deepened it. But Sanji doesn't respond, he's not even aware of the lips kissing him. the world is going way too fast, and his mind is working way too slow, therefore as a tongue urge him to open his mouth, Ace's next words first then makes sense in his mind.

He pushes him away roughly and steps unevenly back. "No," he says, shaking his head in disbelieve, not knowing what to feel "No, it's not true, it can't be, you… you're my _friend_, we're-"

Zoro's face appears in his mind, and all of the words he'd said about Ace, runs like a freaking sound-player through his head.

"You don't know what you're saying,"

"Sanji, I know what I'm saying, I'm in lo-"

"Don't _fucking_SAY IT!" he roars. He can't take it, this is too freaking unreal. "You're, you're out of your mind!"

"Yes, I'm out of my mind! I moved to the big states, to be in the near of you. I lied about stuff, to get closer to you, I fucking _love_you Sanji, that's-"

"_**SHUT**____**UP!**_" He's roaring, almost shrieking the words out. His hands are shaking; they'd never been shaking this much before. His whole _body_is trembling of pure anger. Taking a deep breath of air Sanji points an accusing finger at him. "You _knew_about me and Zoro?" he takes a few deep breaths to calm himself "and yet you fucking _tried_to ruin our relationship, you selfish bastard!"

"Hey hey! I did _nothing_to ruin it!" Ace defended, stepping towards him, the blond pulled back, finger still pointing at him. "_You__'__re_the one who let me do this and that to you! _You_answered all of my calls! _You_ always went out in town with _me_, we always took out partying, had fun. I _invited_you and since you –I don't know- came along, accepted my "drunken" touches, I thought-"

"Well, you thought _wrong_ then!"

"How should I even know?" Ace's voice were now deafening the blonds, realising this, he then silenced, closed his eyes to calm himself, before he opened them to look straight into Sanji's one visible blue eye, and spoke calmly, so calmly that it ran like cold icy water down Sanji's back.

"Even though, I'm not the one running around and cheating on your _boyfriend_, making other think that you actually more than like them!"

Sanji had enough, his rage was boiling to the point that he saw nothing but red "Get out," he whispered through clenched teeth. As the man didn't move he roared, clenching his fists tightly "OUT!"

But instead of walking out of the apartment, Ace surged straight towards Sanji, slamming him to the wall, pinning his arms against it.

"I want you, Sanji, don't you fucking understand? I _love_you!"

"Let go of me, damn it! You're _sick_!"

"Stop pulling an act all the time!"

"I'm _not_pulling any act, god damn it! Let the fuck go of m –mph?" Ace silenced him at once with a kiss, forcing the flaring body to stay still by pressing his own body against it. As he pulled away, he stared deeply into the two flaming eyes. "Don't tell me that you don't feel anything for me. Don't tell me that you didn't like the kisses yesterday, the touches as we danced to _his_party." Ace shook his head "Don't tell me that back then, even though that we were drunk, meant nothing for you? I _knew_that you did! Don't-"

"Shut UP!" Sanji leaned his head back and then hammered it straight into the other man's head. He saw stars as the pain shook through his whole head, but at least it also affected the other enough to step back. He used that momentum to kick him. Ace flew back into the sofa. Sanji didn't give him any time to recover, and jumped after him, kicking him again, and again, and again, and again… all until the man were more than blue and swollen in the face, body, arms… everywhere. He stopped his leg from hammering straight down on his face; it loomed dangerously over him as they both tried to catch their breath.

Ace had been taking fully by surprise, he hadn't expected the blond to go at it like a psychotic murderer, but instead of scarring the hell shit out of him, it only just turned him even more on. That was one of the reasons to why he loved him; the man was strong, and a hell of a lot sexier when being mad.

The foot pressed down on his throat as Sanji caught the knowing self-satisfied smirk on his face, pressing down on his windpipe. He could easily move that foot away if he wanted to, he could easily had taken the blond against his will, but no matter how much he wanted him, he didn't want him to hate him more than needed, so, he relaxed and sighed in defeat.

"Get out. Don't the fucking hell ever come back,"

This snapped Ace fully out of it. No, this wasn't what he wanted. The trump! He needed to use the trump card again. He grabbed the foot in his hand, but didn't remove it. "Well, _I__'__m_not the one cheating on the one you _supposed_ to love!"

There! Right there! He could see the words stab him right in the chest. It was cruel, but it was the only thing he could do.

"I'm not the one walking around living on a lie, telling lies and acts oh so saintly to the world," and there it hit again, just as hard as the first one. Ace had to stop himself from smirking visibly; he kept a face of pain instead, with a bit of anger in it. He felt the foot release the pressure, for then to soon disappear fully, before it collided directly into his face, a black out there reached for a whole ten seconds. As he came back to consciousness, the door out to the hallway was open, at it stood the blond, looking anywhere but at him.

Ace sat up, watching the blond for a moment, before sighing deeply, while scratching his neck. Maybe he had gone a bit too far.

"Look, Sanji, I'm sorry," he said, actually meaning it. He hated to see that lifeless look on the blonds' face.

Luffy might have been right… he had changed… and it wasn't for the better.

"I… should never had said all of that, I-"

"Just… get the hell out of here,"

"Sanji,"

Sanji shook his head, turning his face the other away, still doing all what he could for not to look at the other. He took a deep breath of air, before repeating his own words "Get, the hell, out of here…now… before I'll _kick_you out!" the last words almost being spit tiredly out through clenched teeth, telling that he was more than pissed, not in the mood to talk anymore, and that he would kick without a warning.

Ace moved to stand up, feeling wobbly on his legs, thanks to all the kicks he had reserved, as he grabbed his hat, and disappeared with the door slamming shut at his heels. He put on his hat, buried his hands in his pockets, and slouched down the stairs, having a tugging feeling deep inside, but yet did not once look back.

After almost staring a hole through the door, feeling his anger growing to the level where he almost couldn't control it, Sanji roared up as he swirled around on his heel and kicked to the nearest thing at hand; unfortunately it was the wall. The kick itself was so powerful, that the foot went right through the wood. Cursing over his breath, he pulled the foot back, kicking at a stool instead to watch it flying through the room, hitting the sofa.

He wanted to punch somebody, hurt someone, _fuck,_ he wanted to _kill_the first person at hand. Swirling around as he saw a glimpse of movement, Sanji came face to face with his own mirror image reflect in a picture hanging on the wall.

Glaring at the image, he even wanted to punch the picture to destroy the face glaring back at him, but couldn't even make his hand move an inch closer to it, as it was a picture of him and Zoro on one of their 'secret dates'.

They looked so happy and carefree.

Damn it! If just he could step out of his own body, and beat the hell shit out of himself, he would have done that.

But, no –he looked away- it just couldn't be true. Never, he would never cheat on Zoro like that, drunk or not, freaking _never_! Then… then _why_was it that he almost could feel the others sweaty skin against his own naked chest? How come that he suddenly could remember the musky smell there were far from Zoro's, and damn hell did _not_belong to any women? How come that he suddenly could hear his own whimpering voice, as Ace grumbled out his name? The sounds rang loudly in his ears, the pants, gasps, the sound of the creaking of a bed as Ace whispered his name, told him sweet nothingness while thrusting harder into him.

It wasn't enough with the sounds, the torturing volume ringing in his ears, or the smell overpowering his senses so much that he literally could smell it even now. No. Now even the pictures came, little by little as the memories from that night chose just that moment to smash right down onto him.

Sanji felt numb as he looked at the half spent cigarette rolling between his fingers, still lit. He hadn't even realised that he had been moving across the room to the sofa still lying upside down, to pick it up. He wasn't even aware of how much he was shaking in the moment, before he stood up to take a mouthful of nicotine. He stared at his trembling hand there made the smoke shudder as it escaped the burning stick.

He felt dizzy, sick within himself. The whole room felt like turning around, and it made his stomach turn.

He had to sit.

Grapping the chair he had kicked earlier, he flipped it around to be able to sit on it. His vision were blurry, a sob escaped his constricted throat, as he felt his whole being starting to tremble uncontrollably.

No matter how you looked at it, he _had_willingly slept with another person, practically a stranger… a _man_ who wasn't _Zoro_.

'_Cheater!_'

He pressed his palms hard against his eyes sockets in hope for pressing the tears back in, but it was futile. His heart clenched, felt cramped inside of his chest, as the tears finally fell. Clutching his hair, burying his head completely in his lap, while almost tearing his own hair off, cigarette still smoking in his one hand, as he tried to make himself as small as possible, Sanji wailed out loud, unable to stop the sounds from coming out.

*"_Åh__gud_… _fan__också_…!"

What, the fuck… had he done?

SL-SL-SL-SL

He was still giggling from his earlier encounter with his furious friend and neighbour, who literally had been standing and scolding him, of how it was _his_fault that Luffy had raped his fridge last night. "I swear, that the next thing he would be chewing on, if I hadn't found some old biscuit's in one of the cabinets, would be my poor arm!"

Usopp had literally described Luffy as a scary monster, almost close to the Loch Ness Monster, and Zoro hadn't been able to stop himself from cracking up, laughing out loud at the poor man who slowly turned even redder in his face.

His giggles though, stopped abruptly the moment he opened the door to the apartment, mouth open to say "Guess why Luffy weren't here this morning," but was left speechless as he looked inside. The sofa lay upside down, there was a hole in the wall and on the floor there were some few bloodstains. But it wasn't that there shocked him the most, it was the slouched form of his lover, sitting in a chair near the window, there was open just enough for the smoke to escape outside. At the windowsill there stood an ashtray there long gone had been more than full, and in his right hand there was yet another new cigarette burning on its own.

He stepped inside carefully, even the air was thick with a feeling there almost could choke him.

Sadness.

But why?

"Sanji?" he asked carefully. He could almost have yelled it out, as the person in question reacted like he had, almost jumping out of his own skin at the mention of his own name. Then he turned all stiff, not looking his way, not even answering him. The hand holding the cigarette, he saw with worry, where trembling. His hands _never_trembled. They were strong, delicate and steady… never did they once tremble as now, not even after a tough fight, or after a long day at work.

This worried him even more. Was he hurt? Had someone broken into their apartment and hurt him? Scared him, threatened him or something?

"Cook?" he asked a bit louder, walking up to the frozen form. He kneeled down and grabbed the thinner man's arms, shaking him a little. "Sanji, are you hurt?" the hand holding the cigarette shook even more, before it clenched tighter around it and ended it days by crushing it into the overflowing ashtray. The blond stood up, determined. Zoro released his arms automatically as the man moved to stand up, looking up at him as he turned around, facing his back his way. Sanji's hands hang down along his sides, fists clenched, trembling as was he trying to calm himself.

"We… have to talk," he croaked, his voice hoarse and tired. Zoro lifted a brow at that. Something defiantly wasn't right here.

"About what? What happened in here?" he asked, motioning out to the room and the state it was in. Now when he looked closer, it looked clean, even the windows –had Sanji been cleaning before all this had happened?

Sanji sighed, the sound coming deep down from his lungs as he exhaled. "Me," he said, nodding to the sofa "but… that's not important,"

"It's not important? What is then? Hey, look at me," Sanji shook his head. Zoro moved up to him, grabbing his arms and shook him lightly. "Look at me," he said much calmer, and as the blond turned his face away again, he grabbed it gently and tilted the head up, brushing the hair to the side to reveal a face he hadn't seen before.

Sanji had been… crying? His eyes were all puffy and red, and in the corners of them threatened new ones to fall again.

"What-?" he was pushed away, as the blond moved past him to grab himself yet another cigarette. Zoro cringed his nose as he saw what might be the twentieth or so cancer-stick being lit. Sanji hadn't been smoking at a long time of period, seeing him like this…

"Me and Ace…" the blond started slowly, but then stopped. Zoro's brow quirked at the mention of that man… was it about yesterday? Did he finally want to confess? He wanted to say something, shake him while yelling in his face what the fuck was wrong and what had happened, but he waited patiently for the other to speak. Sanji took a long drag of the cigarette, before finally turning around to face him again, his face expressionless beside a sudden sadness and fear flashing in his visible eye for a moment. "You were right," he croaked.

"About what?" Zoro pushed on, cursing the other for being so slow. Sanji chuckled, shaking his head, but there were no humour in it.

"And here I've thought that I was such a 'saint', promising you this and that. Fuck, I'm an idiot,"

He _defiantly_didn't like where this were going. Wait, was Sanji breaking up with him? The mere thought of it almost made him dizzy, even his fingertips turned slightly cold, but he didn't let it show how he were feeling in the moment.

"What the fuck are you talking about, cook? Speak English, damn it, so a decent person can understand you!"

Sanji honestly wanted to make a remark on that one, but he had to tell. He couldn't let himself being distracted by a much needed fists and feet-fight, just to forget all of this. '_Yeah,__and__then__have__some__mind-blowing__sex__right__after,__damn__it__sounds__tempting,_'

"I… we've…" his hand holding the cigarette were shaking again as he took a shuddering breath of air. He swallowed to wet his mouth there all of a sudden had dried all out. How the hell should he say this? Hey, I've been banged by the man you hate so much! Sorry, we were drunk, but it won't happen again? Yeah right, the man before him would explode and either kill him, or Ace… or both of them. He chuckled darkly by the thought of it. Hell, he _had_deserved it.

"Apparently I've been cheating on you,"

'_Oh__good,__nice__way__to__put__it,__fuck-head!_" Sanji thought sarcastically, tempted to hit himself in the face. Zoro gaped, blinked, wanted to say something, but no words came out. Sanji tried to keep his calm, but it was getting even harder for each second he forced himself to stare into his lover's face. Finally figuring out how to talk again, Zoro almost roared that single word out.

"_WHAT?_"

"You heard me," he tried to say calmly, though he could feel the grief and sobs threatening to appear again, he bit the inside of his lip to prevent himself from sounding even more pitiful than he already did.

Zoro still looked like someone who had seen an alien, he shook his head. "You fucking with me or something? 'cause it's damn hell _not_funny!" he sounded angry, no shit, of course he would sound angry. If this had been reversed, Sanji wouldn't have been able to hold back from strangling the other.

He took yet another long drag of his smoke. Fuck, he couldn't stop his freaking hand from trembling. "M'not kidding,"

An unpleasant silence stretched in between the two of them, as Sanji waited for the others answer, and Zoro tried to comprehend what just had been said. He couldn't believe it, he _wouldn__'__t_believe it, Sanji –no… but then again, he would never go say such things if they weren't true. Zoro sighed deeply, a painful feeling tucked at his heart. He closed his eyes, palmed his face, and let his fingers run through his short hair. He grabbed tight at the hair back at his neck, thinking, listening.

"Wait," he then said, a long time after. He breathed in deep, feeling the anger slowly surface. "_when_… _where_?"

There was a little pause as the blond inhaled deeply at his cigarette, before answering. "Back when I was in Sweden, at that Cooking Contest. He, Luffy and I lived side by side at the same hotel -you know,"

Zoro nodded "Yeah, I know, you told me _that_ part,"

Sanji groaned at the press of the word 'that', but did nothing other than breathing in the nicotine deep into his lungs, keeping it there as long as possible, before exhaling it out again. "It was about two days," he could feel his voice shuddering -he swallowed hard, but as he spoke again it was clearly visible that he was trying to hold it back. Fuck how he sounded stupid right now "before I left to get back home here. We celebrated it by going into the hotels bar, me and… Ace. We apparently got a bit too much to drink… and then as we, went back up stairs… we… we, did _it_."

"_Why_…?" Zoro sounded more calmly in his own ears, than he actually felt. He had to take long deep breath of air, and then breathe slowly out again to calm himself down. Sanji sighed, cigarette-hand tugging in his blond hair.

"Fuck if I knew why! It just… somehow… kind of happened,"

"Oh, so you just 'accidently' fell and tripped over his dick or something? And, oh, while we're at it, let's just fuck! Is that it?" he was boiling; he could _feel_ his own blood boiling. His fingers where itching, itching for to hurt _someone_. Sanji slapped his hand out in the air.

"I fucking hell never said that!" he screamed. Zoro's vocals where getting louder as well.

"Then _WHY_ did you do it then? Am I too boring to be with now, or something?"

"Shit, no!" his voice where shuddering, tears pressed on to come out. He knew that he deserved much harsher words, he had, somehow, prepared for those, but even though as they came out, they still hurt like burning daggers being stabbed through his heart.

"Then _why_?" Zoro stared at him, all kind of self-control where slowly slipping out of his grasp. Air. He needed to get out, outside to get some fresh air, before _he_would do something he would regret. Sanji stared back at him with an unreadable expression, before he closed them and looked away.

"I…I don't know," he said sadly. The cigarette smoking on its own in his trembling hand "I don't know," he repeated with a quivering sigh.

"Thought so," he turned around to go, but was stopped as a hand grabbed the arm of his jacket.

"Zoro, wait," he pulled to get out of his grasp, but the blond held tighter. "Wait, please, I'm, I'm s-"

"If you're going to say '_I__'__m__sorry_,' then forget about it. Apparently you weren't sorry back then," he snapped back, at the same time he wanted to smack himself for being such an ass. Sanji _was_apologizing, but… he just couldn't accept it just yet.

"I was _drunk_! I didn't know what I was doing!" The blond defended. _That_snapped him out of pitying him. He looked back with a dark glare and roared.

"And you call _that_as an _excuse_?"

"No but,"

"But _what?_ Huh, Sanji? _WHAT?_" As he didn't get any answers back, he turned to leave again, but the hand where still holding tight in his jacket. "Let go of me," he threatened. As Sanji neither answered nor moved, he only zipped his jacket open, pulled it off and went to open the door.

"No, Zoro wait! Don't-!" he grabbed his arm to stop him, at the same time he realised that he never should have done it, as a fist came out hammering right into his face.

"_LET__THE__FUCK__GO__OF__ME,__YOU__FUCKING__WHORE_!" Sanji rolled along the floor, but didn't get up as the words finally burst out, freezing him to the spot. He looked shakily up at his lover, and hated himself even more as he saw the tears tugging in the corner of his eyes, two drops rolling down his cheeks. Zoro where trembling, fists clenched to stop himself to hit him again. His eyes where dark, full of hate, anger, hurt, sadness… and betrayal. As he turned around to leave again, a fear hit Sanji at once. A fear of being left alone.

"No, no Zoro don't, don't leave me," oh god how pathetic he sounded like, but even so, he didn't care. Zoro looked disgusted down at him, as he had crawled to him and grabbed his one leg to stop him.

"I'm going to kick you if you wont let go," he couldn't even speak out his name any longer, it was like the word alone was made out of needles, and speaking it out would stab the whole inside of his mouth into a bloody mess. But he would, he would kick him if he didn't let go. '_Just__let__go__of__my__leg__already,__I__need__some__air!_' He thought, finally getting his leg wrestled out of his grasp, of course he should know that such a threat wouldn't make the blond back away. He didn't listen to him as he shouted something after him, he didn't _want_to listen to his pathetic words, but as he saw that the blond were following him down the stairs, he turned around to glare at him, making the man almost walk straight into him.

"_Don__'__t_follow me,"

"Don't go then," he said back, manning himself up a bit again, though the sadness still tugged at his words.

"Stay!" he said pointing at the step he stood on. Sanji growled.

"I'm not a dog!"

"Oh? You do lift your ass nicely for anyone passing by," with that Zoro turned around, hurrying down the stairs.

"I do _not_do such things! It was _once_! ONCE!" then an extra pair of feet took the way down the stairs. Sanji was slowly catching in on him. As he was only a few steps away, Zoro turned around at once again, grabbing his shirt.

"I told you _not_to _follow__me_!"

"I-" Sanji never managed to say out his words as he roughly was being shoved back, thanks to the little space, he fell, hitting his back into the sharp edges of the steps. Zoro almost winced as he saw the other moan over the sudden pain in the back, but refused to feel sorry for him, and turned him his back, almost running down the steps.

He could feel the pain tuck at his heart, tears gathered in his eyes, but he refused to let more fall, he didn't want to look like a cry-baby. The anger inside of him were growing, _that_feeling too were pressing on. '_Punishing.__Mine.__He__'__s__mine.__No__others!__Should__know__his__place._' It was disgustingly how much he were starting to sound like his uncle.

"_Don__'__t__**ever**__become__like__your__uncle.__Restrain!__Else__you__'__ll__regret__it__one__day.__Don__'__t__let__the__jalousy__kill__you,__**or**____your__love.__"_ his father once had warned him, back then when he lived, back then when everythings were okay. Dad was okay, uncle a scum, but he never told his father what he really thought about uncle, since dad really cared a lot about his younger brother.

Zoro loved Sanji. Hell, he would even call it that he were _madly_in love in the blond, but hearing, _this,_fuelled him. it made him wanna hurt that Ace-fucker. It even made him wanna hurt _Sanji._Therefore he had to get out, get some fresh air, cool down… before he ever would do something he always would regret. He loved that annoying pissy blond, he loved fighing with him, loved to bitching with him, hold in hands when no others where looking, sneaking a kiss in the public when it was 'safe', holding him, sitting with him, cozing, snuggling with him, the sex, his cooking, his smile, his laugher, his eyes, even his sometimes pissy attitude –it was what made Sanji to Sanji. Therefore he had to go, get some air, think. He so much wanted to forgive him, but he couldn't take it to look at him, not now. He knew that it hurt the blond as well, he could see it.

'_Sanji__had__been__crying__before__I__came._' He thought, turning around to take the next flight of stairs '_Ace__…__has__Ace__been__there?__Sanji__didn__'__t__look__like__**he**____was__the__one__being__hurt__enough__to__bleed._'

"**_Hey__Zoro,_"**

The phone call for about two months ago ran through his mind as he thought about that… _man._

"_What?" _

He hadn't liked the tone in his voice one bit, as he talked with him back then. He still remembered the words. Every single one of them he had said.

"**_I__'__ll__get__him,_" **

"_What are you-" _

"**_He__'__s__already_mine_… _Zoro…_!_"**

'_That__fucker,__if__I__ever__get__my__hands__on__him__…__!_'

He had finally managed down to the large underground garage. Finding his car fast, he sat inside of it and smacked the door shut. He sat there for what felt like ages, staring into the wall, hands on the wheel as the emotions fought for which one of them should win the war and take over him. Grief? Anger? Or was it hate?

"_Don't ever, and I repeat,"_

Sanji's voice from back at Vivi's party, right after he had slapped him in the face, suddenly interrupted Ace's voice.

"_EVER__talk__like__that__I__'__ve__been__cheating__on__you,__**Zoro**__**Roronoa**__!__ '__Cause__then__you__'__re_ _**fucking**__out__of__your__freaking__mind!__"_

"_He's already mine…"_

'_Stop__speaking__in__my__mind__already!__'_ he sneered as the voice of Ace drowned the voice of the blond, overtaking his mind once again, pestering it to no end. Somehow he looked more devilish in his mind now, than what he had done back then.

"_You have already lost, **Zoro**," he said coolly, a smile growing on his lips as he pointed onto his chest. Zoro were so much tempted to snap that finger and rip it off, or just to break it, crunching the bones into dust "I can give him anything what he wants, at any time. You," Ace chuckled "You're just a poor "iron-worker", a handy-man who'll take any kind of low-paid job, and still you barely can pay for your own toilet paper."_

He clenched tighter around the wheel, so hard that he swore that he even could hear the plastic creak, unaware of it, he was even breathing faster when thinking of that fucker.

"_Watch it, Portagas…!" Zoro warned him, every cell in his body straining him back from planting a fist in this asses face, and it was getting even harder as the man fucking laughed at him._

"_What? Is the truth ill heard? No, Roronoa, you're loosing him… and I'm winning him," his wide smile was almost matching Luffy's impossible wide confident smile "Keep on acting like a psycho, and I'll gain him even fast-" _

_A fist to his jaw cut him off from any word he would have said next, though the blow would have send any normal man into a unconscious state, Ace only stood up from the floor where he had landed, chuckling even more at him, as he rubbed his chin. Two brown eyes looked satisfied up at him._

"_As I told you before; you're digging your own grave,"_

BAM!

"FUCK-HEAD!" his nostrils burned like was he breathing in flames through his nose, fist planted solidly on the dashboard after it had smashed right down onto it. '_I__'__ll__kill__him!__I__'__ll__fucking__kill__**him**__!__'_

He didn't react as the side door suddenly was opened, and another person took a seat right next to him. Sanji stared at him, watched him with a searching look, as Zoro tried to calm himself enough down for not to yell at the other.

"Get, out of my car," he said coolly, not even giving him more than a quick glance.

Sanji kept on looking at him, before he turned his head away to stare at the wall in front of them. "No," he said stubbornly, crossing his arms like a bolshie kid who wanted his will.

"Get. Out!" Zoro said, threatening, but of course it didn't scare the stubborn chef away.

As the blond didn't move, he grunted in irritation, bringing the old engine into life, he backed the car fast, then stopped promptly to shift gear. "Get out!" he repeated, but as the blond still didn't move, he kicked the speeder "_Fine_, it's _your_ problem then," he said and drove fast out of the garage, starting with such a speed that Sanji literally flew back into the seat.

The wheels screeched as he swung out into the streets, almost hitting a car coming from their left who's angry horn roared loudly after them. Sanji held onto whatever he could as Zoro's car swung in and out of the cars to overtake each of them, the needle of the speedometer crawled dangerously higher up and soon reached a speed there were far from legal inside of the city.

"Shit! You're trying to kill us or something?" he shouted, as they almost hit a car coming opposite them, as they yet again overtook another car in front of them.

"I told you to step out of the car," the iron-worker said coldly, not looking his way at any time.

"If I fucking knew that you would go commit suicide, I wouldn't have tagged along!" the blond roared back, gritting his teeth and held tighter in the doorknob and the dashboard, as Zoro took yet another sharp swing. He freaking swore that the car only drove on two wheels around that corner!

"No, you would much rather prefer to sit home with your new boyfriend, right?" Zoro spat back, wanting to choke said boyfriend in the moment. Where the hell did that fucker live?

"He's _not_my boyfriend, Zoro! Shit! Watch it it's re –it's red! It was freaking red! What if the police sees us? Fuck I don't want to get a ticket, damn it, _or_a stamp on my clean papers!"

"Oh? Then what are you? You've let him fuck you _and_kiss you! And don't worry; there are no cops in this area at this time of the day,"

Sanji hadn't thought that his soul could break more than it already had done, as he heard what the other had said, he felt his face paling. "Oh god, you heard that?"

Zoro snorted as he nodded "Yeah, both heard _and_saw it!" Sanji looked down ashamed, gritting his teeth.

"Fuck!"

Zoro chuckled darkly. "Not with me, babe, go ask your-"

"He's NOT my boyfriend! Shit! _Watch__that__car__ahead__of__you_!" The old Ford Mustang made a fast sharp swing down another street before they would hit into the car in front of them, causing them almost to get hit by a another car coming from the other direction. The horn still howled in the darkening evening a long time after the two cars passed each other. "Damn it! I don't wanna die, you know!"

"Should have thought about that sometime before," Something in those words left a cold pit in the depths of Sanji's stomach, as he stared horrified at the driver beside him.

"Zoro," he asked carefully, "where the hell are we riding to?" Zoro shrugged.

"Who knows," then pulled a sadistic evil smile "let's see where this _old__junk_ can bring us too, shall we?" He stepped hard down onto the speeder, causing the blond to recoil back into the seat as the needle of the speedometer crawled even further up –shit, it wasn't even allowed to drive this fast _out__side__the__city_!

"Zoro, stop it! Slow down, god damn it! It's _not_funny!" fuck he was scared. His heart was beating so fast that he thought that it soon would burst out through his chest, as the tall buildings flashed past them, lights from the streets blurred out into a mixing colour like on a painter's pallet, together with the lights from the passing cars and "Shit! Watch that motorcycle!" The old Ford made a dangerous swing around the bike, making Sanji getting slammed from one side to another.

"Oh? So you think finding out that your fucking boyfriend has lifted his ass to get fucked by _another_freaking _man_ is funny? Huh?"

"Shit! Zoro, stop swinging the car like that! It's going to tumble over!"

Zoro ignored him, his anger was at the level with the needle on the speedometer; far up in the red zone where it couldn't get any further up.

"You think that its fun to work your ass off, while _you__'__re_ getting yours fucked?"

"Zoro, god damn it! It's _nothing_like that!" he was almost digging his nails deep into the dashboard, as he saw the world pass by. Fuck, he could almost see his whole _life_pass by in the moment, though it wasn't long, it _did_ show a lot.

"It's not like that, huh? It's not? Then what is it like then? Please _do_explain that to me!"

"Don't fucking look my way when driving this fast! _Fan__i__helvetet__,__du__kommer__att__döda__oss__i__denna__hastighet!_" –_**Devil**____**in**____**hell,**____**you**__**'**__**re**____**going**____**to**____**kill**____**us**____**in**____**this**____**speed!**_

"You know? I always loved hearing you speaking Swedish, even though I never understood one single word of it,"

"_Loved?__Loved?_ _Still_love! Don't talk in the past like you're about to commit suicide soon, damn it!"

'_Fuck,__We__'__re__going__to__die,__we__'__re__going__to__die,__we__'__re__going__to__die!__I__don__'__t__wanna__die!_' his nails scraped in the dashboard, as he felt his body temperature drop dangerously low, as they almost hit a tree at the side of the road, because of the idiot wasn't looking at the road he was _supposed_to drive on. '_Zeff__I__'__m__sorry__that__I__was__such__an__ass,__please__take__good__care__of__the__restaurant.__Don__'__t__hope__that__you__have__anything__against__getting__back__into__business._'

"…and for your own records; I'll look wherever the hell I _want_ to look, got that?"

"Not when _I__'__m_sitting in the car, moss-head! I _want_to live,"

Zoro snorted "Yeah, guess that pyromaniac would love to fuck you again!"

"Shit! That car was a bit too close! The hell you're talking about? I told you that it was _once_! No more! Never! Fuck! I hear sirens! Zoro there's sirens right behind us!"

"And how should I be able to believe you, hm? You kept this a secret for such a long time!"

"_I__only__fucking__remembered__it__today__as__Ace-_"

"Oh, so Ace _has_been by when I wasn't at home! Nice. Where you all over each other again?"

'…_could__somehow__say__that,_'

"Not like that!"

"Then how like, then?" Sanji was somehow a bit calmer than before, as Zoro looked ahead of them, instead of looking at him, but, damn it, his heart still threatened to burst out through his chest. Every fibre in his body shook and shivered.

"I fucking kicked the fucker's ass! There, satisfied?" he glanced at the side-mirror, seeing red lights getting nearer. "Shit! The police are right at our tail! The police are after us!" Zoro glanced at his side of the side-mirror as well. When he saw who it was, he smirked, then chuckled.

"No worry, it's only Smoker,"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"You really love that word, huh?"

"Shut up!"

Zoro made a dangerous swing around yet another car as they passed it.

"Zoro, slow down, _please_! You're scarring me! Please slow down…!"

"…_you__'__re__loosing__him__… __and__I__'__m__winning__him,__" _Zoro frowned as he heard Ace's words again in his mind, his smile much wider than he remembered, and this time he even managed to finish his sentence_ "__Keep__on__acting__like__a__psycho,__and__I__'__ll__gain__him__even__faster!__" _

'_Shit!_' he swung into a small dark alley. He hit the breaks, making the car slide a little, wheels screeching loudly in the night as the car was brought to a sudden stop. Sanji literally flew forward, over the dashboard, knocking his head into the front window; it was only a miracle that the glass didn't break… or his skull for that matter.

Zoro sat there for a moment, draining out the sick adrenaline there had kicked into his veins, trying to calm his beating heart and putting his mind together.

Fuck. He was such a shit-head, a no-brain, as Sanji always called him.

Speaking of… he looked at the passenger seat where said person slowly crawled back down into his seat. He was shaking, trembling like a freaked out scared kid, as he tried to calm his own racing heart down. Fear clearly shone in his now two visible blue eyes, as tousled hair only covered a bit of his face. '_The__hell__am__I__doing?__I__'__m__scarring__him__away__from__me,__'_

The patrol car made a sharp swing as it halted across from them, cutting off any escape possibilities. Sanji watched with fear as a broad tall muscled man almost slammed the door open, stepping out to head straight towards them. Puffing on a large cigar, he looked like a smoking volcano there were ready to erupt at any second. Behind him, coming out from the other side of the patrol car came a much smaller person out, a woman; she was shaking so much that she barely could stand on her legs. Fuck, Sanji thought, he wouldn't even be off better than her.

Zoro watched as Smoker stepped up to them with long strides, he chuckled as he leaned back into his seat, glancing Sanji's way, but there where no humour in his voice. Zoro watched with sick satisfaction that Sanji was bleeding from the hair-line, colouring his oh so blond hair right there into a bright red, looking at the front window he saw a spot with blood. "It's dangerous driving without having your seatbelt on," he said with a smirk, though another side of him wanted to reach over, dry the blood off his face and apologize him so many times for being such an ass, until his throat would go raw. But instead, with the blonds' wide eyes watching him, he opened the seatbelt, slid out of the seat as he opened the door, and then slammed it shut. Putting his hands into his pockets he strolled over to meet up with the angry officer halfway. "Hey Smoker! How are you today?"

Smoker grunted, grabbed his arm as soon he was in reach, twisting it painfully behind his back his head was grabbed too, before he was slammed right down onto his old Ford's hood. His other hand was yanked behind him as well, as two handcuffs clasped around his wrists. Sanji called out his name while he was about to open the passenger door, but Zoro mimed him to stay inside, smirk still full on place. The blond stared at him with disbelieve. What the hell went in to him? Zoro didn't even know this himself.

"The hell you think you're doing, Roronoa, driving like a maniac this early in the evening, putting yourself and innocent citizens lives in danger?" the silver-haired man grumbled around his cigar. As Zoro did nothing but chuckle, he pulled his head up to slam it hard down onto the hood.

"Zoro!" he heard the blond call again from inside of the car.

"Answer me kid!" demanded the commandant angrily. Zoro snorted.

"Just needed some fresh air to cool down," he said, staring right at the dishevelled blond, who stared back at him, scared. '_Shit,__I__AM__scarring__him__away__from__me,_' He closed his eyes, suppressing the tears there wanted to fall. '_I__'__m__an__idiot__for__not__fighting__harder__for__him,_'

"One of your fights again, huh?" Smoker asked with a grunt, yanking him up by his shirt, forcing him to stand up. As he came face to face with him, the older man saw the sickness of sorrow, betrayal, anger and indifference, like he didn't give a shit at anything in the world anymore, floating in his eyes. He glanced quickly over the kid's shoulder, seeing a blond young man sitting in the car, bleeding from the head, looking both shocked and scared as hell. "So you just had to cool down, huh?"

"Heh, yeah," that damn smirk came back onto his face. Smoker growled, then slammed a fist into his face.

"Commandant Smoker!" called the dark-haired woman shocked. Zoro didn't budge under, so he pulled his face up again to only hit him even harder, sending the kid into the dusty ground.

"Just needed some air, huh?" He kicked him hard in his abdomen. "To cool down?" he pulled the kid up, staring into his eyes, which looked knowingly back at him, before he planted yet another fist into his face. He had known this man since he was a little kid in a gang. He knew that he always picked up fight to relieve his anger and frustrations. Then since he had caught him and told him stuff, the kid had stopped searching for troubles. For about a few months ago he started speed-racing through town, only to get his full attention; the kid knew his area. He called the shit he was doing for _Stress-relieve,_ and literally begged him to beat the hell shit out of him.

So, he did that again today. It was like a silent agreement between the two of them, and Smoker far from didn't mind it… he just didn't like that he took off speed-racing through the town, putting innocent people into danger. Have the kid ever thought of what would happen if another cop caught him at first? '_Probably__wouldn__'__t__mind__in__the__given__moment.__He__never__does__when__he__'__s__in__this__ '__state__'__.__' _

"Tashigi!" he called around his smoking cigar. The woman looked up from the coughing young man on the ground "Go take a look at the kid in the car, I think he has hurt his head a little,"

"Don't… arrest him," coughed Zoro from the ground, trying to pull himself up from the dust "I'm the law-breaker… not him," Smoker grunted, nodding his way to the young officer, before he planted yet another fist in the kid's face.

Sanji watched with horror as the large officer was beating the hell shit out of Zoro, who just either stood there or lay there, taking it all. He couldn't take it. He couldn't just sit there and watch it all, it was, after all, _his_fault. He fumbled to find the knob, then pushed the door open to stand out, but it was easier said than done. Just as he had expected, his legs where shaking like hell, and he had to grab at the door for support.

"Sir, I have to ask you to sit back inside of the car," he looked around to see a young officer, not more than a couple of years older than himself, standing beside him, motioning him to sit back inside. He shook his head, pointing at what was going on in front of them, but surprisingly he couldn't find out how to even speak, the only word wanting to leave his lips, where the iron-worker's name.

The beautiful officer helped him to sit back inside, while she kneeled down to take a look at the cut on his temple. Sanji let out a yelp as Zoro was literally slammed back down onto the hood, while the large officer told out his rights. No, no he couldn't let them take him away! He couldn't! It was _his_fault! _He_should be locked behind bars!

"Until you've learned to control your temper," the large man, as Zoro had called _Smoker_, said as he searched his pockets, emptying them onto the hood beside Zoro's head "I'll withhold your driver's license until then!" Zoro didn't say anything, just coughed up some blood, trembling all over his body. Sanji was ready to shout at the large officer, but somehow he couldn't get his mouth to work the way he wanted to, as Zoro turned his neck to look at him, stopping him from doing anything but stare with horror; a large smirk was plastered on the green-haired man's face.

Sanji didn't listen to what the young officer woman was saying, nor did he barely feel her hands as she tried to push him back into the car, while the large grumpy officer pulled Zoro up from the hood and literally dragged him along with him over to the police car –Zoro not even having a change to get his footing- , where he was tossed into the backseat.

The young officer grabbed him and slammed him onto the hood as well, as he didn't want to listen to her orders about staying put, telling him his rights as she clicked on a pair of handcuffs on him.

Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! The hell had he done?

SL-SL-SL-SL

It was raining, though it was freezing cold outside, it was raining. It was dangerous walking outside in the moment, the grounds where too slippery thanks to the thin layer of ice covering the streets. Sanji stood and stared at the weather outside, while his hands moved on their own, cooking another dish for another awaiting table inside of the restaurant. His movements were mechanics, his eyes staring at a world outside this busy kitchen, his mind a completely different place. None of the other cooks dared to interrupt him, knew better of not to unless they wanted to taste a piece of hell.

Carne and Patty, two cooks who had worked in the restaurant since Zeff was the head-chef, exchanged knowing looks, whispered words to each other… there were clearly audible for anyone to hear. Sanji furrowed his brows, glaring into the dish he was preparing.

"Oi, Shit-heads! You know that I can hear you two fucking voices from over here, right?" he said through gritted teeth.

"We just thought, that maybe you should take a little break?" Carne suggested, rubbing the back of his head, as they stepped closer up to the fuming blond. The other cooks instead pulled a bit further away from the scene.

"Well, don't use your fucking brains too much, or you might look a bit smarter than monkeys."

"Hey listen, Shit-blond," growled Patty, a man larger than even Zeff. His body looked like a bodybuilders and was a nice scarring off for customers who was up for troubles, but who Sanji at any given time could take down with one nice swift kick. He stepped up into said shit-blonds' face, cutting off his view from the sauce he was preparing. "Either you go out take a break, get some air, or we'll go tell Zeff that you've just managed to ruin yet another dish."

"I am _not_ruining any dishes, fucking muscle-head!"

Patty pointed down at the sauce with a scowl on his face. "That sauce there have been bubbling already for a nice four minutes, it's ruined, the taste is destroyed," Sanji opened his mouth to retort just the moment the other opened his mouth, but as he heard what he had done, he looked immediately down at his work, seeing that indeed the dish was far from being saved.

"Shit," he furrowed his brows at it. It was the third time in this week that he had managed to ruin a dish, or simply burn it like a fucking new-starter. "I have to make a new one," he took it off the heater, motioning to the sink where it could cool off before being tossed out –just the mere thought of it pained him, he hated wasting food, it was too precious since it was one out of two things there kept people alive. But he never made to take a fourth step before Patty's and Carne's arms where blocking his way. "Move it, I have to-"

"Your ears blocked with wax or something?" spat the muscled idiot "I told you either get the hell out of here so we actually can _work_ without having your mooning ass to stay in the way, or we'll go tell Zeff,"

"What are you? Freaking kids or something?" Sanji spat back, glaring at the two of them.

"Jason!" Patty called, without looking at the cook in question "Go up and get Zeff down here!"

"A-are you crazy? The old Chef said that he absolutely didn't want to get interrupted today! He'll kick my ass all the way to Florida, if-"

"If you don't get your ass up there now, _I__'__ll_be the one to kick your ass, and that'll be all the way up to _Antarctic_!"

"Tche! You wouldn't even be able to kick his ass an arm reach away from you," Sanji snorted, not taking his eyes off the glaring man. But as he out of the corner of his eyes saw the cook named Jason tremblingly moving to the stairs there would lead up to the private area, he sighed and finally gave in "_Fine_then, but don't come back crying, if you fucked up the place and got your asses whipped by the old geezer!" he said, placing the pot down on the counter with a hard slam. He turned around to leave, but stopped at the door, pointing an angry finger at Jason who sighed in relieved, because he didn't have to go up waking the grumpy old chef. "And _you_. The Chef in command, the Big Boss, the Number One right now is _me_, got that? Or do I have to refresh your memory about that I took over this place two freaking years ago?" Jason shook his head, so much that Sanji could swear that the head would fall off at any moment.

"Just get your ass out of here _Big__Boss_," Patty teased, and waved a cloth after him, sending him an air-kiss as well, like a wife wishing her husband to take care of himself outside the big world. The blond growled and showed him his middle finger, before smashing the door shut behind him.

"You don't think that you were a bit too harsh right there?" asked Carne, as he dared taking a peek-taste of the dismissed sauce. "Might be that it have boiled a bit too much, but it still taste great,"

Patty turned around to face his companion, thumbing the person who just had left the place. "He's been like that since he ended his ass in jail for a night. Dunno what happened, but his _friend_ is still in there." He pointed out "The moss-head should be out this afternoon after what I've heard, just thought that he needed some air before he'll get back home –Oi! You there! Take that dish the Chef left and add that sauce to it, move it!" he ordered another cook to, as said cook just had managed to deliver a finished dish to one of the waiters.

"Yes sir!" he said, doing as he was told.

"I'm worried about the kid, though," said Carne, stepping aside for the cook to take the sauce "It's like he's breaking slowly, and Sanji is well on his way as well." Patty sighed, shaking his head.

"Love has always been nothing but troubles. You better stay away from it before it'll ruin you!"

"Hey! Who told you to order me around what to do with my own life? Keep out of it!"

"I'm just saying it; better off to stay away from it!"

"You know," Carne said after they had calmed down a bit, close to having a wrestling inside of the kitchen, but was stopped by four cooks, telling them to cool off themselves. "There's a saying; it's better to love than never to have loved,"

"You're going to become all poetic now?" Patty said pointing a finger into his own mouth "Stop it before I'll throw up!"

SL-SL-SL-SL

His foot almost slipped at the icy pavement, as he strolled in between people who were out buying their Christmas presents. Two freaking weeks he had been locked into that freaking cell. That fuck-head to Smoker! But okay, he had deserved it. Putting innocent people's lives into danger by speed-racing through the town on a busy evening was something there were more than idiotic; it was madness. He still didn't get why he suddenly had got that sick habit. Maybe Smoker was right of taking his driver-license, until he had learned to cool off on a better way? _'__Maybe__I__should__start__running__again?_' Zoro thought, and apologized a passerby as he had walked straight into her.

She nodded her thanks as he helped her picking up the bags and packets she had dropped in their encounter.

"Oh, I thought so that I recognised you, Zoro, right?" Zoro looked up at the woman's face, not even looked at her properly as he had bumped into her. His eyes went wide, and lighted up.

"Vivi! Sorry, I didn't see-"

"That's okay," she said, giggling, and waved it off. "So? You out buying a present for Sanji as well?" The name alone stabbed him in the heart. Sanji. He hadn't been able to think of anything else, but at the blond chef... about _that_day, about all the _other_days… about that fuck-head to Ace.

'_Is__he__still__trying__to__take__him__away__from__me?__Don__'__t__tell__me__that__he__'__s__been__so__stupid__to__go__and__forgive__him__… __fuck,__I__wonder__if__he__even__have__forgiven__**me**__yet,_'

"Zoro? Something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no… I was just thinking," He looked into the window they stood at, realising what kind of shop they stood in front of. "But yeah, I'm going to buy the Blondie a present," Vivi giggled and looked the same way as he.

"You know, that's a pretty expensive store, right?"

"Yeah I know… but there's something in there that he always have wished to have,"

The blond woman watched him for a moment, then smiled knowingly. "You really like him, don't you? You going to say _it_soon?"

Zoro blinked, completely confused, then remembered that Vivi was one of the few he had told about _it_, then smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, I am… really soon. Hey Vivi? You think you can help me out here? The seller in there already thinks that I want to rob his shop,"

She blinked confused, then saw that indeed the seller stood at the desk, hand already holding something there wasn't legal, while he stared horrified at the green-haired man. Zoro sighed.

"Why do rich people always think that I want to rob them?" Vivi practically laughed at that and clapped his back.

"Well because that you _are_a thief." She teased "you've already stolen many hearts," Zoro made a face.

"You're putting me like I'm some kind of Don Juan, damn it," she laughed again, then followed with him inside. Yeah, he was going to buy him _that_present, _that_thing that the blond always had looked longingly after, the _thing_that Zoro had worked his ass off for, for all this time. Those extra jobs where only to be able to buy him _that_thing. Vivi knew it, that was why she had helped him getting the best paid job there fit him well, that did not mean sitting behind a desk all day. He didn't have such kind of educations, though the woman had offered helping getting one, he had dismissed it; he wanted to work up for his own stuffs… he wasn't a man who normally liked to ask for help.

"You think you can add this one into the box?" he asked the seller, giving the man a nice folded piece of paper. The good thing with sitting in jail was that he had had plenty of time to think things through. And he had decided what to do… about _him_…about _them_. He knew Ace well enough to know that the fucker would try get close to his blond again, so therefore Zoro would say _it_ once and for all; he would _take_him, before anyone else could… before Sanji would give up on what little they had left. '_Before__he__'__ll__stop__loving__me__…__or__… __does__he__even__love__me__anymore?_' he swallowed as he felt his throat tighten, but the tightness disappeared as he looked down at the present for Sanji again, as he remembered the engraved words the seller had written down for him.

The man nodded, laying down the piece of folded paper into the box as well.

Zoro smiled as he saw the seller pack in the present nicely, in ocean-blue paper as well '_just__like__the__colours__of__**his**__eyes,_'

"He's gonna _love__it_!" Vivi chirped beside him, her eyes shined just as much as he felt his own heart did. Then she looked up at him. "Sanji's gonna love this present really much! I know he will! You've laid so much hard work into this, that he cant do anything but love it!" she said with all confidence in her voice.

"Yeah, he will,"

'_I__really__hope__that__he__will__…__!_'

SL-SL-SL-SL

The Christmas tunes blasted out through the loudspeakers. People laughed, chatted and danced. The dinner had been the best ever, but that was thanks to that it had been catered by the Baratie Restaurant. People were happy. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper all stole each a packet from underneath the giant Christmas tree, there stood in the middle of one of the large dining rooms of Ohara Hotel, and was now chased down by Paulie and Tilestone; two workers from the Galey La Lumberjack Company, two of Franky's workers and friends. Franky had really gotten himself a big shot, as he had chose to marry a hotel-owner in the billion classes, but the man himself didn't know any of this, before Robin showed him the place, exactly a month after they had been married.

Franky hadn't stopped bragging about it since then… not even after being beaten the hell shit out of –he had a thing of getting on peoples nerves way too muh sometimes.

Zoro stood in a corner, a drink in one hand, as one of the waiters had offered him one, while he looked over the crowd, looking for a certain head of blond hair. Ever since they stepped into this place, they had been split, and thanks to all those freaking many people there was in here, Zoro hadn't been able to track down the blond again.

Now he stood eyeing the place, drinking his fourth glass of… something. He didn't know what the heck he had been served; only that it tasted damn hell good. '_Gotta__ask__him__what__it__is,__**he**____knows__it__just__by__the__taste__of__it,_' he thought, smiling by the thought of him. Things hadn't gone all that well since he had come home from jail. They literally barely had spoken, only a 'Hello,' 'good morning', 'hi' and 'good night'. And it pained him to no end. Sanji almost looked like someone who either had been scared half to death by him, annoyed as hell or just didn't want to be at the same place as him.

He wanted their time back, the time where they were in each others arms, chatted, fought, teased and loved. He tightened his grasp around the little packet in his pocket. When everyone else had laid their presents underneath the large tree, Zoro had kept his in his pocket, hiding behind everyone else who wanted to lay a packet for those they had bought it to. Franky had told him that there even was a present for each in the room, from both the Galey La Lumberjack Company and Ohara Hotel… no wonder that they needed such a large tree.

He wanted to give it directly to him, outside on the balcony where the snow was falling peacefully, unknown to what happened inside of this large building. Unknown to what feelings roamed in each person in this room… unknown to what decisions there had been taken by a green-haired man, who stood and watched it falling slowly down.

Zoro remembered a winter, maybe it was last winter? Yeah, it _was_last winter. He and Sanji had rented a cabin all the way up in Canada, of all places, _where_ in Canada he didn't even remember. It had only been the two of them for a weekend, but it had been a damn hell great time. They'd been able to forget the world outside the warm cabin, sitting close to each other on the sofa, in the heat from the fireplace, watching the flames dance dangerously with each other. They had been sitting, laying there, talked about this and that, interlaced fingers with each other, compared their hands sizes, how Zoro's had a broad palm with small fingers, a fighters fist he had called it, while Sanji's where more elegant with its long delicate fingers; fingers of a pianist. Sanji had elbowed him in his abdomen when he had said that. When he told him what a girl he were being, Zoro almost got his nose broken by the blonds' sharp knee.

It was weird how such memories suddenly popped up. It had been a really wonderful time, and Zoro wouldn't mind to have stayed up there, forgetting the world around them again, just so he could stay and enjoy his time with Sanji again. Locked away from everyone else, to just be with him, only _him._

But reality wasn't like that, far from it. He missed holding the blond against him, he missed all those things they had together, even their fights, hell, the fights, the to-the-limit-sparring session was a _part_of them, even the bitching parts –though none of them would never admit that they'd ever be bitching-, and he feared that _he_was the one who had ruined it all. Thanks to his childish behaviour back then when Sanji apologized to him. He could have kept holding it as a secret, but _he_at least had been man enough to tell… Zoro just hadn't been man enough to accept and forgive.

'_But__tonight__I__'__ll__change__it._' He thought, clenching the glass in his hand a bit too much so it creaked '_Tonight__I__'__ll__tell__him,__I__'__ll__take__him__back,__and__that__fucker__to__Ace__can__just__pack__his__shit__and__go__back__home__to__that__hole__he__lived,__back__in__that__shitty__country__in__Europe!_

…_and what if it won't work? Then what? What if I'd ruined too much already? What if he'd already cut me off and accepted **him** instead?_

_What__if__I__'__ve__already__lost__him?__'_ he already had a plan for that as well, he sighed by the thought of it, feeling his insides break a little. If Sanji refused… if he… then he would…

He shook his head to clean it. Bad thoughts wouldn't help him here. With that in mind he downed the last of his drink, placed it on a nearby table, and searched the room once again. He meant that he just had seen a blond head pass by near the large windows together with someone else.

Sanji was in the opposite mood than he was in the given moment. He laughed and chatted with some of their friends… and among those friends, Ace stood, mood just as high. He felt a lump in his throat; it was slowly choking him and making his heart beat faster, while his fingers went icy cold. He held to the little packet in his pocket, holding around it for dear life, as would the little thing be able to help him out if he was about to drown in all these mixed feelings.

"Hey Zoro!" he hadn't even realised that he had been spotted, and he was close to shocked, as the blond actually had _spoken_to him, even called him by his name! Sanji was smiling wide, while he waved at him to come closer. Sanji hadn't been this happy for… how long was it now? Shit, he couldn't even remember.

Zoro took a deep breath of air, as was he about to dive under the surface of the sea, giving him his best of smiles, slowly feeling hope rising inside of him again.

"Hey!" he called back, giving him a nod in greeting "Splendid mood, are we?" Sanji actually chuckled, the sound was music for his ears and made his heart sing of joy. Sanji just being in a good mood, made _him_ being in a good mood as well. That was what he loved him for as well; he could lift your mood at any given time.

"Yeah, it's a great party, isn't it? Franky have really outdone himself this time." The blond said, looking around like he just had come to the capital of Wonderland.

"I think that's only thanks to Robin, she'd been the one holding in his ears," …and then he laughed. Zoro had never felt this good in such a long time, as he heard his blond truly laugh.

"Robin-dear is a wonderful woman," Sanji looked up and down at him, not really have seen before now that he had dressed out somehow a bit 'civilised'. Zoro wore a clean black suit, with a dark-green shirt there was open in the front, fitting well to his hair there were smoothed back. Sanji licked his lips, and Zoro only knew that look all too well.

"You look nice tonight," Ace suddenly budged in, ruining their little own private moment, that they hadn't have for what felt like years. He slung his one arm around the blonds' neck, and Sanji… tensed a little, but didn't really mind it either. If Zoro had looked closer, he would have seen the little discomfort of the other's presence, but he didn't, and what he thought he saw, only made his heart make a little flop "Is that patent-leather shoes that you're wearing?" the raven asked, pointing down at Zoro's shoes "They must be really expensive, or?" he looked up at him with an interested look. Zoro almost awaited from him asking; "And where did you steal those from? That suit you're wearing isn't that cheap again, is it? Oh, you robbed a bank or something?" Oh god how it would feel nice if the shit-head really would have said it… then he at least had a nice excuse for busting his nose through his fucking skull.

Apparently Sanji thought somehow the same about the fire-worker, and told the raven to stop it. Ace only looked innocently at him, apologizing if he had said something wrong. God how it suddenly started to feel awkward to stand here while other people stood there as well, actually complimenting him for how good or how nice he looked tonight.

"Uhm, Sanji," he said as he got close enough to the blond, while the raven –still freaking hanging around his neck- talked with Paulie who breathlessly told that he finally had caught his damn energetic little brother from snapping a present before time, and how Ace couldn't keep a better eye on that 'kid'. Ace only laughed, Zoro liked the thought of that someone else also scolded the raven.

Sanji looked at him at the mentioning of his name. His smile was almost close to break out into a laugh, after listening to Paulie's story, and his eyes, or rather the visible eye, where shining. "Yes?" he asked, almost whispering as Zoro had done the same.

"Would you, uhm, mind going out to get some fresh air? I –uh... I need to talk with you,"

Sanji looked at him, seeing that Zoro wanted to talk serious business, but that didn't let his mood falter at all, it even brightened up much more "Sure," he said, then told the others that he would be back in a moment, leaving Ace for his destiny from almost getting choked by Paulie. Zoro already liked that blond lumberjack a lot more than before.

"So? What's up?" Sanji asked as they had finally managed to squeeze themselves through the dancing crowd, to finally getting some fresh air out on the balcony… just as Zoro had planned.

"Well, uhm…" Damn it! He had been planning this so many times! How come that he now stood like another freaking teenager, fumbling with the words? Instead of finding the right words, he sat to look at the blond as he lit himself a smoke, watching the nightly scene before them. It was getting so rarely seeing him smoking, that Zoro honestly _missed_ seeing that cancer-stick engulfed by those soft lips. Its just somehow was a part of Sanji's image.

"Hey, you know what?" the blond suddenly said, the bright hair flied around his face as he looked up from lighting his smoke, interrupting Zoro's train of thoughts. Apparently he had been too slow answering, so the blond thought that maybe he could start up with the talking. His visible eye were shining, lips pulled up into a huge grin.

"What?" Zoro said a little baffled. His hands somehow had found their own way down into his pockets, the one hand holding around the present, debating whether or not to take it up now, or to wait.

"You can never guess what I've just got in an early Christmas-present!"

He sounded happy. He sounded really happy… would he sound just as happy when he got _his_present as well?

"Oh? I thought that there were no presents before ten o'clock?" he said, forcing himself to smirk at his own words. Why did he suddenly feel so nervous?

"Haha! I know, I know, but Ace just wanted to give me it before we started eating and such. Wanted to make up for what he'd done, apparently I looked ready to kill him the moment I saw him. Ass deserved to get his head kicked in, but when he came with that packet, apoligizing and such," he made a motion with his hand holding the cigarette, like he tried to get the words to roll out correctly by doing so "I just couldn't like brush him off like that, ya know?" Zoro swallowed, his throat somehow started to get dry, even his hands started to shiver. Why so? Because Sanji sounded like a excited kid on Christmas eve, who tried to sound like the complete opposite?

"Oh? So what you got?" Zoro literally could see tha visible blue eye gleam like a star in the night when he asked. His hand squeezed more around the little packet in his pocket.

'_That__'__s__why__he__'__s__so__happy?__Because__he__and__the__pyro__had__become__friends__again?_'

Sanji's smile were widening, close to breaking his face into two pieces, before he showed him his wrist, pulling up his jacket so he could really see. Zoro paled many shades white as he saw what it was, even his heart stopped beating for a moment. No… no way in hell…!

"Isn't it cool? It's the John & Yosaku watch that I've told you so much about!"

"It's... the one you've always wanted," Zoro said flatly. Sanji nodded eagerly, apparently the cook didn't hear the way he spoke out the words.

"It is! And you know how damn expensive it is, right? I told him that he shouldn't have, but he wanted to, said that he had money enough, you know how his and Luffy's parents are almost swimming in money, right? So, he bought me this one as a..." Zoro didn't listen to him anymore. He simply just couldn't. Sanji's words turned into a white noise, while Zoro just watched him. Sanji was happy... he was happy as he was now...together with Ace. Ace had managed to buy his blonds' heart.

He could see when he had lost... he had known it already back then... even Ace had told him so... he should have listened. It was futile to believe that he could keep someone as Sanji for himself forever... one day the good times would be over, this day seemed to point it out clearly.

Sanji talked, but Zoro didn't listen, he just watched him. He clenched the present in his pocket, trying to press out some luck out of it… just something... there would help him. But his heart was already shattering, their bond, the love they had...apparently was gone now. Sanji was happy, not because of that Zoro was around, no, Zoro had managed to ruin that by acting like a stupid idiotic kid. Sanji were happy, always happy, whenever that raven was around, whenever _Ace_was there.

He took in a shivering breath of air, his chest felt like it was burning.

He was drowning, sinking into the deep. Lungs screaming for air… but knew it would never breathe in that same livegiving air as it needed to be able to live. To exsist. So... this was how it really felt like, to lose someone who's heart you've served on a silver-plate?

"...ro..."

He didn't like it... he damn hell didn't like feeling this vulnerable...!

"...oro...?"

He knew when he had lost...

"…ey…"

Zoro closed his eyes, forcing the tears to stay back.

...and this fight, he defiantly had lost.

"Hey, Zoro?" A hand lay on his shoulder; he couldn't take it opening his eyes to look into those clear ocean blue eyes, but he knew that he had to, and just as he thought, his heart broke completely. "Zoro? You okay? You don't mind, do you?" Sanji asked, worry floated in those eyes, he never let his emotions show like this, not in public, not for him, unless he forced them out of him.

He smiled, though he was close to crumble and cry out loud, and shook his head. "No, I don't mind," he said, more than surprised to hear how happy and calm he sounded like.

"Really? You don't?" the blond sounded just as surprised as he felt. Zoro shook his head again, forcing himself to swallow that lump there sat stuck in his throat. As Sanji confirmed that the iron-workers words were serious, his smile returned full force. This time though, seeing the smile, hurt Zoro a thousand times more than he ever could imagine.

"By the way," the blond said, taking a drag of his cigarette, releasing the smoke out into the cold winter weather. Funny enough, Zoro didn't freeze in the moment… not really "What did you want to talk with me about?" he held tight onto the packet in his pocket, then released it, sighing.

"Nothing, really," he lied, watching the blonds' feet as he said this. There was nothing else to do, he realised, nothing else. "Hey," he said some time later, before the blond disappeared into the party again, as some of their friends had stuck their head out calling for him about the buffet.

"Yeah?"

Zoro scratched the back of his head. "You think you can make it from here?"

The blond blinked at him, confused. "You're already heading home? Its present-time now, you know? Not going to see what you'll get?" there was a nervous smile playing on his lips, but Zoro apparently didn't see it.

He shook his head. "You'll be able to make it from here on…right?"

"Not feeling well?" Sanji asked worriedly. Heh! No. He didn't feel well… actually he felt like shit, but _that_ he didn't have to know of.

"Not really, m'tired," the blond blinked again, then nodded.

"Yeah, I'll make it from here," he said, smile full on place.

"You sure?"

Somehow the blond didn't like the way it was asked… actually somehow he didn't like this conversation at all!

"Yes, I'm sure. Now come on in before you'll catch a cold or something, there's plenty of room upstairs. I don't think that Robin would mind…"

Zoro didn't listen to what he said, he just stood there, watched him as the blond walked and talked with, well, apparently he thought that he was still following him… just for a moment more. He breathed out a deep sigh, before he trotted the other way. Pulling up the little packet in his pocket. Zoro looked at the little thing for one last time, before he dropped it into a bin, and disappeared out through the doors, unaware of that he had been watched by a certain red-haired woman.

Nami looked with a worried expression after him. She would never know that she was the last person to see Zoro Roronoa, before he disappeared out of their lives, if she had known, maybe she would have reacted differently, or maybe she actually wouldn't have done anything... but no one would ever know.

Nami, curious by nature, made her way through the thick crowd of people, eyes constantly glued on the bin near the door. As she reached it she kneeled down, quickly finding the little packet the iron-worker had tossed out. She stood up, staring at the little thing wrapped in ocean-blue paper. '_Why__would__anyone__toss__a__present__out?_'

"Isn't that Zoro's present for Sanji?" Vivi asked, looking curiously at the packet in Nami's hands. Nami looked up at the woman who suddenly stood beside her.

"For Sanji?" she blinked, then thought. After a moment she gasped. "You mean…?" Vivi nodded. She looked back down at the present in her hand. This was the thing Zoro had worked his ass off for in all these months… but _why_had he then just tossed it out like it was nothing but junk? Zoro had looked sad, more like a beaten puppy when he had left.

Suddenly spotting a certain blond head somewhere around a raven-haired man, Nami suddenly felt the puzzle solve itself. Zoro had left… because of Ace. She didn't know what was going on between them, but seeing Zoro's defeated face like that, it was enough to piss her off. Something had happened, something there would make Zoro to give up all of a sudden. Honestly she never could see what he saw in the blond, they always fought, and Zoro's always been smiling that smile of his, whenever she had mentioned it. Sure he was nice, good looking and all that… but there was a _BUT_!

Nami clenched her fist around the little packet, while she stomped up to the blond, where he stood laughing together with that fucker to Ace. Sanji didn't see her, before she practically stood right up in his face, glaring at him.

"N-nami-dear! Nice to see such a wonderful angel such as you here as well," he said, motioning to bow for her, but she flattened her palm against his head, stopping him in the middle of his motion. The blonde blinked surprised at her. "Uh-uhm… is there anything that I can do for you, Nami-dear?"

"Yes, actually there is," she said, now glaring at the man standing beside her "First off you can get rid of that fucker beside you,"

"Huh?" Ace asked wisely, blinking confused as well.

"N-nami-dear,"

"No 'dear' me here. Now, get away before I'll ask someone to move you!" She hadn't intended on being this mad, but seeing how sad Zoro had looked like when he had left, and seeing how happy these two where, really got her temper up to the boiling point. Ace looked at the blond, who nodded, before he left.

"Second off, I think you should take a look on this one, and then go take a look at Zoro! That man have worked his ass off for _you,_just to make _you_happy, and you don't even fucking care a _shit!_" she literally slammed the present into his chest, making him stumble a little.

"Whah? Zoro? Is this from Zoro? Where is he anyway? I suddenly couldn't find him,"

"Well, it did really _seemed_like you had your hands full," she glared at the raven who still made his way out into the crowd at the Christmas tree, to go find his own presents "But if you would care for him just half as much as he always have done for you, then you maybe _should_try find him back at your _home_!" and with that she turned on her high heels, leaving a baffled Sanji behind.

The blond blinked after her, surprised to no end, before he looked down at the little packet in his hands. This was from Zoro? Then… why hadn't he given it to him, if he wanted him to have it? Or had he suddenly forgot and asked Nami to find him and deliver it? Unwrapping the present slowly, moving the blue paper aside, he found a little box inside of it. Suddenly feeling something flutter inside of him, Sanji opened the little box and took out the letter there laid at top. Investigating the paper, he closed the box, and opened the small folded letter, reading it.

_Cook_

_This is kind of hard to write, but luckily I got plenty of times here in jail, and no one to disturb me. _

_Look, I'm sorry that I've been such an ass lately, but I've been worried my ass off the whole time. _

_Why? _

_Because I was afraid of loosing you to **him**!_

_Because of that I feared he would take you away from me._

_I… I know that I should have trusted you a lot more than what I've done, and what you did, with him…. Don't worry about it, you know, we're only humans, and as humans we make mistakes. I'm… thanks for telling me… thanks for being honest about what happened._

_I'm just sorry that I wasn't adult enough to handle the information correctly._

_There's a thing that you have to know, Cook, and… it's really embarrassing to write, god it feels weird to write it and look at it, but hell, that's just how I feel._

_Sanji, I'm in love in you, that's why I'm acting so fucking stupid sometimes. I love, well, everything we do, even our fights, especially our fights, and of course the sex. Heh. But,you should know, just being with you… makes me feel alive._

_Therefore there's another thing that I want to ask you about, but this I want to ask myself, and not through this stupid letter… and I hope that you'll say 'yes'._

_Marimo_

He was already running before he ever finished reading the last few words. He was out the door as he re-read the whole letter… did it really say what he thought it did? Did Zoro really want to… propose? But why didn't he then? Why didn't he ask? Why? Did he want to wait till they both got home? Was _that_why he went that early? No, Zoro already wanted to talk with him out on that balcony, he had been fumbling with the words, like another embarrassed child who wanted to ask the girl he loved to-

But then he had interrupted, told him about his presents. From Ace. Now when he thought about it, Zoro suddenly hadn't looked that well. Actually he had been paling. When he, showed him, that watch. From Ace. '_Oh__God,__Ace!__How__could__I__be__so__stupid?__I__'__ve__just__told__him__what__we__'__ve__done,__and__then-_'

Sanji didn't know what to think, he just kept on running as fast as he could. He had a bad feeling about this, a really bad feeling about it. But at the same time his whole body felt like bubbling, the blood in his veins roared with delight, and he just wanted to scream out loud in joy. Zoro was going to propose! His naïve side believed in that things would go back to as it was before. Zoro had forgiven him. He didn't care about the ironworkes maniac act right after getting to know, he wouldn't even trust himself to have acted any better. Not after hearing that the one that you love all over the world, the one you've given your heard to, had been sleeping with another man, become friends with that same man, went out in town with, partying together, getting late home with him, being pressed up against a wall and been _kissed_ by that man, and hadn't done anything to stop that kiss, other than kissing back.

Now thinking with the correct sense, he couldn't understand why he'd ever accepted Ace's friendship after all that. Why did _Zoro_forgive _him_, when Sanji still couldn't forgive himself? Why…?

The questions kept on, but somehow he didn't want to hear his own questions anymore, nor the answers. His heart were hammering hard inside of his chest. Feelings mixed. Mood swinging. Should he be happy? Or worried? '_Think__positive!_' He re-read the letter once again, almost ran into a young couple walking down the sidewalk. He swirled around, bowed deep, apologized and then twirled around once again, taking long strides as he ran even faster down the streets. '_Think__positive!_'Why the heck hadn't he taken the car? Then he would have gotten to him much faster.

Ten minutes later of fast running he was finally at home. Running up the stairs since the elevator would take too long, Sanji almost slammed the door open into their apartment.

"Zoro, you really serious about this?" he called out, breathless, actually laughing happily, hoping, not even remembering when the last time he'd felt this happy.

But there were only the silence to answer him. He swallowed his saliva to wet his dry throat, looking hopefully around. He couldn't have gone to bed already…

"Hey, Zoro! Stop teasing me god damn it, I've read your letter and…" He looked around, only now realising that not only were the lights not on "Zoro?" it wasn't even warm in there, like had someone just had the window open for mere hours or so. He looked into the wardrobe, thinking that he maybe would hide himself in there, scaring the hell shit out og him with some big toy-spider, like he did the last time… but he wasn't in there. He searched the bathroom, the bedroom, hell he looked _everywhere_... but no Zoro were to be seen anywhere. "Okay, it's not funny anymore! Just get the hell out from wherever you are already! Zoro!"

Still no answer.

Sanji growled, defiantly _not_finding this funny anymore, and even his unsteady rising happy mood were dropping to one in irritation. "Okay then, you can't hide from me forever," he sang out, finding his I-Phone in his pocket, pushing the marimo's name on the list as he found it.

He waited, and listened.

Suddenly he heard the familiar sound of Zoro's phone ringing, coming from the bedroom. Rolling his eyes Sanji went for the room. He should have known that the man still was childish enough to hide underneath their bed. "Okay Zoro, I have spot-" the still ringing phone laid on the bed, together with a bundle of keys, and a note… but there were no Zoro in sight. Closing his phone, putting it back into his pocket, the blond stepped up to the bed, looking down at the stuff laying onto it, but especially stared at the note.

Somehow that note gave him a bad feeling. He defiantly _didn__'__t_like this. "Zoro?" he called out, one last time, but of course did not get any response. He picked up the note, heart hammering inside of his chest, even his hands were trembling just a little as he opened up the note. As he read it, he felt the ground disappear underneath him, and his whole world breaking, like a shattered mirror.

"…no…" no it couldn't be true… it couldn't. He re-read the note, again, and again, and again… but there still stood the same, the words still _meant_the same. He dropped the note stepping back against the wall while he stared at the cursed letters. Tears welled up into his eyes, rolling down his heated chins.

Why hadn't he seen it before now?

Why had he been so blind?

"M… my fault… my fault again," he mumbled, voice breaking. He'd ruined it again… and this time it looked to be permanent. Why, oh _why_ had he taken against Ace's gift? _Why_had he been so fucking _stupid_to let him in again? Was he really so fucking stupid, that he couldn't even see how wrong it looked like? How much it broke Zoro?

"Fucker…" he grabbed his blond hair, his hands shaking, as he roared at himself in the room, the sound echoing against the walls "_FUCKER!_"

He couldn't let him disappear like this, not like this! He didn't want to loose him, he didn't want to loose the only meaning in his life! Sure they had fights, and sure life sucked sometimes in between them… but he had never stopped loving him… and he couldn't think of how he should be able to live without him either. Zoro meant the world to him.

He was out of the door before he knew of it, scrambling down the stairs, almost falling as he ran down two, almost three steps at a time. He had to reach him before it was too late. He had to find him, stop him.

'_Don__'__t__leave!__Don__'__t__leave!_'

"ZORO!" Not even knowing where to run, he just followed the street, almost slipping on the icy road. Lungs stung painfully as he breathed in the cold air, the fallen tears had already frozen to his skin. Some when he had to stop up to catch his breath. He didn't know where he was, and he honestly didn't care, just that he had to find him again, soon!

Sanji patted down at himself, needing a smoke more than ever. As his hands touched the large bulge in his pocket, he suddenly remembered that he still hadn't looked at the present he had got from –he gulped- Zoro. He pulled the little box out, but almost didn't have the courage to open it. His cold fingers trembled as he forced himself to open it, and as he saw the John & Yosaku watch inside of it, the exact same as the one he always had wished… the exact same that he had got from Ace, he lost his strength in his legs. He sat there,in the snow, stared at the watch Zoro had bought him; the watch cost more than what Sanji could earn on a month, if not two. How could Zoro ever afford such an expensive…

"…_That man worked his ass off for you, just to make you happy, and you don't even fucking care a shit!"_

Nami's words rang in his head…

And then the last pieces to the puzzle came into place.

_That_was why the iron-worker had taken all those jobs! That was why he had worked himself so tired, that he barely could stay awake when he got home?

"Because of me…? Shit… _shit_!"

He barely could hold it in his hands as he took it out, looked it over, and as he saw what it said at the backside of the watch, he broke, his cries heard far down the dark streets.

_With all love_

_To my Sanji_

SL-SL-SL-SL

The next day as Usopp came by to visit his neighbours living above him, since they both forgot their presents at the Christmas-party, he was met by an open door leading into an empty apartment. There were no sign by either the chef or the iron-worker.

Trying to see if they still were in bed sleeping, he found nothing but a note lying on the bed, together with Zoro's phone and keys. On the floor he found a second phone; Sanji's I-Phone. Picking up the note, his eyes widened as he saw what it said. He dropped the paper, scrambling out of the haunted apartment he searched down into his own place, fumbling with his phone as he pushed the number to Luffy in.

Up stairs in the empty apartment, the wind had brought the note into the living room, text upside for everyone to read it.

_Sanji_

_I've left._

_Thought you might be better without me as a hindrance, I know how you like him, I'm sorry for standing in your way._

_I should have seen it earlier._

_I'm no good for you, too dangerous._

_Sorry._

_Zoro_

No one ever saw or heard of neither Zoro nor Sanji from that day on. They where like disappeared into thin air.

**~_To__be__continued_~**

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Among the people, I can forget.

In the crowd I can disappear.

**AN:**Please do Review & Review, we love to see what you got in mind. ^c^

Happy Easter Everyone!


	4. What the Autumn brings

_**A/N: God! I was slowly fearing that I would never make to finish this story in time *pants! Gasps!* Thanks to my gramps understanding the situation, and to my colleagues at work (Lisa Nielsen and Inge Andersen), I've been able to even re-read the last pages and~ to finish writing the last pages. **_

_**A big thanks to them and to all of you my wonderful readers and friends for supporting me and believing in me. Now let's just hope that this story will make it through the Collaboration Contest on **'The Yaoi Supernova Author Guilds Forum'**. Wish us luck!**_

_**Enjoy your reading. ^c^**_

Shattering Love

-A One Piece fan fiction

By

Crystal Blue Fox

And

School Escapee

**4. Chapter **

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

**What the Autumn brings**

**-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

_Minnesota _

_Cesar Chavez Street - District del Sol_

_5 months later_

"Noo-! I can't believe that you really got me dragged all the way up to this godforsaken place~!" Nami whined as she was literally dragged down the streets by her enthusiastic friend Vivi.

"Come on, Nami, it's not that bad! I told you; there's going to be a great festival here in town; The Cinco de Mayo Fiesta!" Vivi made a motion like she was showing the whole festival on a poster in front of them. Nami just made a face at her. "Anyway, it's just _so _great! And people from _everywhere _are coming! I mean," she said, turning around giving her one of her widest smiles; she almost reminded her of Luffy, the way she smiled so happily.

She hadn't seen her that happy ever since… _that _day…! Alone the memory of it send a shiver through her body.

Five months… it was weird to think that there already had gone five months since they all last had seen _any_ of _them_.

"…are you even listening?"

"Huh? Sure I am listening!" Nami lied, giggling. She had heard her talk about it so many times now that she almost could the whole program in her head. "

"What's a more fitting way to celebrate the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 than by donning neon-coloured sombreros, bumpin' and grindin' to 'Mambo No. 5' and drinking margaritas until you're fuzzy in the cabeza, right?" she elbowed her friend, making her laugh.

"Yeah, you're right, and about those sombreros," she said, when she spotted a booth right in front of them. She dragged her friend over to it, picking up a large Spanish hat and placed it on top of Nami's head. Nami laughed as she saw herself in the glass of a store, behind the booth.

"Right right, don't forget one for yourself," she said, planting a large sombrero on top of the blonde's head as well "and come on, we have to meet up with Kaya and Conis –god, I'll be surrounded by crazy Blondie's!" Laughing, they paid the seller and hurried off to the festivities.

It was much greater than Nami ever could have imagined. No wonder that there would come this many people to watch this. It was like all the inhabitants of Mexico had come to this northern town to celebrate. And the dresses, and music… especially the parties going on, to put it nicely, Nami was more than overwhelmed. There were so many people, standing watching the carnival walking down the street that she had to be careful not to be stepped down. They had even put the police among the guards –who had, after what she was told, got a week of education in manhandling troublesome spectators; somewhat like a short brief of a police-education- to keep an eye for anyone who'll jump out on the street and either ruin or delay the carnival.

A flash of green among all the carnivals festivities, almost made her drop her drink that had managed to survive so far. No, it couldn't be, must have been some of all that colourful costumes there must have –and there it was again. Nami felt her heart beat an extra time, and the world suddenly slowed down to half it's speed. The sound almost tuned out and there, just as the man with the large hat and the laughing woman bend down, she saw it again. At the other side of the street. Green hair underneath a black cap. She craned her neck, stepped up on her toes to have a better look. Could it possibly be…?

"Excuse me, may I," she stepped in front of another person to get a better look.

The plasticglass hit the ground and the Rom and Cola splattered the dried pavement.

There! Right _there_! It _was _him! One of the guards! There where no doubts about that green hair. "Vivi," she said, not moving her eyes from the green-haired man, who was pushing another person back behind the ropes, keeping the participants in the carnival split from the watchers from the sidewalk. Vivi hmm'ed, not looking back either, completely drowned in the wonder of the festivities. "I… I'll see you back at the hotel, there's… something that I have to do," this snapped the blond out of it, even Conis, who had heard her, looked surprised at her.

"Why? Are you not feeling well?" the light blonde woman asked, looking worried at her.

"No, uh, I just, think I saw someone that I know of, I –see ya!"

"Nami, wait!" but she didn't wait, just as the guard at this side of the street looked away, as time seemed to snap back to normality, she hurried underneath the rope and ran across the street, almost bumping into a dancing woman in a large dress.

"Sorry," she didn't wait for an answer, only had her eyes at the man in front of her. It was, it _was _him, defiantly no doubt about it. "Zoro!" She pushed her way through, feeling the joyfull tears pressing on; she felt so relieved, she just couldn't believe it that she finally had found him "_Zoro!_"

Then someone grabbed her arm, stopping her from getting any further. "Sorry miss, but you can't cross the street right now, please do-"

"No, no! I have to –wait damn it I gotta –Zoro!" But Zoro didn't react, instead he moved out of her sight, away from her. Couldn't he hear her? Was the joyful music far too loud for him to hear? No, one of the people at the other side of the street _did _hear her, since they looked at her the way they did and started talking. But then why… "He's ignoring me!" she thought out loud in horror. The guard trying to pull her away, further away from her friend again, said something, but she didn't listen. No, no she couldn't let him get away again. Not now when she finally had found him. '_No way are you gonna get away one more time, Roronoa!_'

"Really sorry, sir," she then said, as he was about to ask her what she meant. She stepped down hard on his foot with her high heel, and twisted the skin on his naked arm in an _olfort*…_ She honestly never had heard a man having such a high C-level in his voice.

Pushing her way through, perplexed as he had disappeared from her again, she called for him again, pushing aside even harder that a dancer even fell… and then she finally spotted that familiar green hair again, even though the man tried to hide it well underneath his dark cap, well, not well enough though. And indeed, he was trying to get away from her. "Zoro, wait!" Zoro was now pushing his way through, trying to get away from the place… trying to run away again, more urgent than before, almost as had he the police right on his heels. People stepped aside now, making it easier for him to get away, too afraid to stand him in the way. "Oh no you don't! Hey you! Out of my way or I'll execute those balls down there!" The man trying to stop her, indeed stepped to the side as he saw the murder in her eyes.

Damn it! Why should there be _this _many people at this side of the street? Shoving her way through as the group of people thickened once again behind the running man, she even so did finally manage getting closer in on him. He was slowly getting out of the thick crowd, and as he finally came out of it, she threw her arm out, grabbing his hand just in time. "Zoro, stop!" she called breathlessly, panting as she tightened her grasp. "Stop, don't… don't run anymore," he didn't turn around, nor did he answer her. She pulled herself out of the crowd, never letting go of his hand, and surprisingly he didn't even try to pry it off. They stood there while she tried to catch her breath, her fingers tightening around his wrist, not daring to let go of him.

She couldn't believe it that she'd finally found him. The fingers tightened their hold just to ensure her that it was _his _wrist she was holding, she even could feel his pulse rush through his artery in his wrist. All this time, all these worries since after that Christmas-party where he had disappeared, she finally had found him again.

She hadn't even realised that she had started crying before a large thumb dried a tear off her chin. As she looked up at him, looking into those familiar dark eyes, she couldn't hold it back any longer, all those mixed feelings: sadness, despair, worries, nightmares since the one day they heard in the news that the police had found an unknown body with green hair… and finally relief, the great relief. She pressed herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around him as all those feelings came out all at once, as she howled out, crying out even more as that familiar hand ran over her head into her hair to grab her and calm her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his deep voice rumbling in his chest, it felt so nice to hear that voice again, he wrapped his arms around her to try calm her down. "I'm sorry…!"

SL-SL-SL-SL

There weren't many people in the cafeteria, only two or three people, who sat and watched the festivities live on a small TV hanging in a corner. The music and the screaming happy crowd outside were so loud, that you even could hear them through the thick glass of the café's window, this far away from it all.

Nami still sat there opposite him, looking out at the window with a thoughtful face, the cappuchino still stood untouched in front of her, the cream slowly melting away. Honest to be told he had never thought of ever meeting any of his old friends all the way up here in Minnesota… that was particular the main reason to _why _he had moved up to this place. They had been chatting for a while, talking about what they had been doing since they last had seen one another… but not _once _did any of them touch the subject about _him_ or about _that_ night. As the waitress had come with their servings, their whole chatting had died into an uncomfortable silence.

He watched her carefully. Nami had grown a bit longer hair since he last had seen her, he had pointed this out once, just to kill the horrible silence, but the red-head had only shrugged, telling that she wanted it longer. Then the discussion had died again, and now they sat there in this strangling silence.

He wanted to ask… he wanted to know, more than anything, even though that he had tried to forget, tried to move on, it never had succeeded him in doing so. More likely it had given him nightmares, worries. _He _had becomed a ghost in his dreams, whenever he had tried to drink it all away, all the memories, just to live in a daze of alcohol, _he _was there, always there, haunting him, always _his_. Right in his bed, right next to him, in his arms, smiling, laughing, trying to pick a fight, making love, fucking, always there, always. Instead of forgetting him, the alcohol brought him to his side, and therefore he started to drink more, just to live in the illusion of being with him, just to live that dream about having him right there next to him. But whenever he opened his eyes or turned sober, when the small money he had on himself were used all up, when there were no more bottles to drink to fog his mind over, he realised, woke up and found his arms empty, his chest cold, the bed unfilled. His heart wretched, almost tore out of his body, and his tears would burn his eyes as he would find himself screaming out loud in agony. Lost, empty, alone. Forever alone. Realisation was a hard punch.

Then he had started to think, when there where no more alcohol to give him the illusions of lies he for so long had craved. _He _would never be there, no matter of what. Alcohol only brought the painful sorrows back. The alcohol ruined him, it didn't help him. But he knew that when _he _wasn't there with him… Zoro wasn't Zoro, he didn't even recognise himself any longer, least of all his own behavior. He'd become more violence, more disinterested in anything, even in maintaining his own bodystrenght. He barely ate, tried to ignore life, just to live, just to exist, just to forget _him,_ them, and himself. He'd becomed nothing but a shadow of his earlier self. Then he started to take jobs again, started to train again, then took more jobs, did anything but to touch the alcohol again, because the alcohol were no help to him, it only showed him _him_; a life that he knew he never would have again. So, he just existed, he was just there, _why _he even bothered he didn't even know, just that something had always held him back and told him so. He even had stopped looking at a mirror, he didn't like what he saw and it only would remind him of _everything _all over again. He had even grown a beard, he'd realised when running his hand over his face, cheeks a bit sunken in, tired bags under his eyes, eyes darker, but empty: it was the curse of being able to see himself in the glass mirroring his frame. It actually shocked him, damn he looked horrible.

When he saw Nami at the festival, it was like seeing a weak light in the world of darkness he had lived in for so long. He had tried to run away from that light, from the realities, the memories, from life, but the light had caught him anyway, and now it was like a part of him wanted to grasp the old times again, just live like back then, like nothing ever had happened, never had changed.

A lump in his throat almost choked him as he thought about _him_ again, like he hadn't done for several months, as he thought of blond hair between his fingers as he ran them through the softness, as he saw those blue eyes in front of him, staring at him with all love and kindness. He even could hear _his _laugher echo in his mind, again. He had tried to forget, but it seemed like the endless nightmares would start all over again and haunt him, again. But… he had to forget, he would never be able to have again what he once had, he would never get back what his soul so much crawed to have back. All of what he'd known of, had happened before that _bastard _came into their life… it belonged to the past. What laid in the grave you could not dig up again. Beside, it would be too dangerous, not for him, but for… _him_. God, he couldn't even mention _his _name without it would start twisting his heart.

But… he just so much wanted to know… all this time, thinking, trying to forget, move on… he wanted to hear if he was happy with… _that _fucker.

"So," he finally said, cursing the waver in his voice, he cleared his throat trying again "how is _he_?"

"Huh?" Nami looked surprised up at him, as had she just been ripped out of her own deep thoughts.

"How's…" he looked away, down on his black coffee, the sugar long gone melted "how is Sanji… and Ace? Are they… coming well out of it with each other?" his heart twisted when saying it out loud, but he had learned to accept his fate, he had learned to accept Sanji's choice. That was what he always had tried to tell himself. As he didn't get any response, he looked up, shocked none the less to see that Nami were close to tears again. This side of her, those tears, they were so unfamiliar to the woman who normally could act so cold and collected in front of others. "What…?" he asked, but couldn't finish his question, not even knowing _what _he should ask her. Nami sniffled, then dried her tears away with the back of her palm, as she chose to stare out through the window again, before her eyes shifted down to her cappuccino, where the milky heart long gone had melted away.

"Sanji…" she finally said, as was she talking about a far away unhappy past. Zoro didn't like the way she mentioned his name, and clenched his hand around the poor coffee cop. As she finally looked him in the eyes, he didn't like seeing the sadness filling those brown eyes of her. "Ever since you disappeared, Sanji has…" she shook her head.

"What? What have he done?"

"I… I don't know," she sniffled, still forcing her tears to stay back and cleared her throat "no one knows,"

His brow moved up. "What do you mean that 'no one knows'? What have the curlique _now _brought himself into?"

"Just as I said; no one knows. Ever since that night… no one have seen Sanji,"

Zoro paled, he felt his fingers turn icy cold as the ground disappeared underneath him. "Wha-what?" he couldn't believe it. Surely she wasn't saying what he just thought hearing her say… did she?

"Sanji… have been disappeared ever since the night after the Christmas-party at Franky and Robin. He ran off to get home… the next day Usopp came to deliver the presents that you both had forgot, only to be met by an open door and an empty apartment. He found your phone on the bed, together with your keys… and that note of yours," Zoro thought that he couldn't freeze more than he already did as she mentioned that note he had left for Sanji… where he practically broke up with him.

"Sanji's phone he found on the floor, seeing that the last call had been to you, and that your phone had an unanswered call on it." Nami took in a shivering breath of air as she thought back on that horrible day, where the long-nosed engineer-student had called them all, telling about what had happened "The police," her voice was close to break again, but this time she didn't care "The neighbours had told the police that they had heard him crying and screaming in despair late that night. Some saw him running out on the streets, calling _your_ name. No one… no one have seen him or heard of him ever since that day." Nami was crying now, but Zoro was lost in his own mind, as his whole world crumbled once again, and this time he didn't think that it was possible to pick the pieces back up into place. Had Sanji really ran out looking for him?

Then the horror came into his mind, as he felt himself pale even more, if possible. Had something bad _happened_ to him? _Why _had he even _done _that? Wasn't he happy with his _friend_?

"No one… knows where he is…?" he asked carefully. Nami sniffled as she shook her head.

"Zoro, no one even knows if he's still _alive_!" she cried, tears welling down her heated chins "There was this, in the news, a… a month later… they had found a body of a blond young man… b-but they couldn't tell, w-who he was or… or,"

"No…" Zoro shook his head "No, it's not possible, Sanji's not… he's…"

"W-we all feared the same, still fear it. B-but we're still hoping… still hoping for that he'll come walking home soon, just, like, be there again, like he was before. Even his," she cleared her throat, not liking sounding this pathetic, but she just couldn't help it "even Zeff are completely out of it, but… he keeps on saying that 'that eggplant ain't so stupid that he'll get himself killed like that'. He… he's still hoping, but the cooks, the waiters… the whole staff are doubting it, saying that the old chef just don't want to see the truth of it and –Z-Zoro?" she hadn't realised before now how silent the man sitting in front of her had become, nor how pale his skin had turned. His large fists held tight around his cop for dear life.

"I… I killed him…?"

"NO! No, it's not… it's not even for sure that it's him!" she hurried to say, cursing herself for ever mentioning it. How could she ever let her tongue slip and break the already broken man in front of her once again? Sure Zoro looked strong and more scary than ever, but his dark eyes, how hard and motionless they tried to look like, they could not lie about his true feelings and pain.

"Well, but he's still gone, even if it _isn't _him… then-"

"Don't even dare _think _that way! It's enough with that we all have done that, worrying about if either of you were still alive!"

Zoro dropped his head, staring down into the blackness of his coffee, the fist laying for itself on the table, clenched. So, Sanji _had _been having deeper feelings for him the whole time? Or was it guilt?

…fuck…!

He had done it again; made a whole mess out of it… he hadn't even thought of how much it even would have hurt his friends. He couldn't help but keep on being a fucking selfish bastard… no matter how hard he tried to be something else.

"Zoro," he was pulled out of his self-hating thoughts as a slender petite hand lay carefully on his own much larger hand. He looked at the feminine hand as it squeezed his just a little. He looked up at the owner's face, who looked pleadingly back at him "please… please come home. Then… then we at least have _one _of you back home," She sniffled, holding a hand for her nose as to try and hold the tears from falling, but it was useless. She turned her head away to hide her crying face.

"Nami," Zoro sighed, not liking seeing her like this. He sighed in defeat, nodding. "Yeah… yeah I'll come back," He couldn't keep on hiding forever, he couldn't keep on living without living. He missed his friends way too much to stay away any longer, he _wanted _to get back… even if it meant being haunted by the memories of the man he once loved… _still _love… and being taunted by the presence of the man who helped to destroy it all. Even if he had to swallow his heart, try and forget, let go of him, start on a new. His friends didn't deserve being treated like this.

At least, if he couldn't be there for _him, _he at least should be there for those who always had been there for him and helped him out of trouble: his _friends._

He looked up into her eyes, determined.

"I'll come back…!"

SL-SL-SL-SL

_New York_

_4 months later_

The winter would come earlier this year, they said in the news. So far it was freezing cold, but thank god there were no snow or ice to be seen anywhere. It was autumn, the wind was harsh, and tearing off the poor colourful leafs there held on for their dear lives to the trees branches.

Zoro scooted himself closer to the fireplace, which he had grown accustomed to rather quickly, when cold days haunted the out-side world. A warm cup of coffee stood near him on the sofa table, while books and more books surrounded him from all sides. Nami had convinced him that taking a higher schooling and then an education to whatever he wanted, would be more wise, and surprisingly Zoro didn't mind sitting on the school bench… that was until he was remembered once again _why _he hated schools so much, as he got his first freaking _ten _homework's, at _one week_! But yeah, that was what you'd get out of it when skipping the first year, stepping right into the second year.

Pushing the glasses further up his nose, he tried to make the words understandable. After reading the same line about five times and still not getting what the words meant, Zoro called it enough for the day. Closing the book, putting the notes away, he laid down in front of the fireplace stretching out fully, like another lazy cat, as Nami used to call him. It was nice that she had taken him in, letting him living in her home, opening to him and even letting him in to her heart. He had initially stayed a bit away, accepted her help, but not yet this deeper feelings of hers. The scars from the past had been too deep, still were, but somehow the woman had gotten into him, and he had let himself go, accepted it and forced himself to forget anything there had happened before he stepped inside of Nami's house. She derserved at least that, after all what she'd done for him and given him, even though that he never would feel the same like _back then,_ even though that he never would love anyone like… _back then, _he would give her what she wanted… just to try and forget the past and live into this new life.

To forget, _him. _Sanji sat down opposite him, one leg pulled up, an arm leaning on it, propping up his head. He tilted his golden head and smiled at him. "You look like a teen who'd just been banged." Zoro tilted his head, smiling back up at him.

"And what if I have?" Sanji chuckled, running his long slender fingers through his hair while looking into the cracking fire. Zoro just watched him.

"You good?" Zoro tilted his head even more, almost getting uncomfortable.

"What ya mean?"

"I was almost there." He turned around sitting up fully to look at the blond man.

"Stop talking in riddles, it's confusingly." Sanji chuckled, but there were no humor in it.

"_You _think everything is confusing, as soon its have to do about _thinking_." Zoro groaned, the smile returned back to that beautiful face.

"I'm still here."

"Of course you are, you're sitting right in front of me, curl-brow!"

"Haha! You know, before I always hated when you called me that," the blond looked up, both blue eyes now locking with confused dark ones "but now I somehow miss your irritatingly annoying voice and lame nicknames."

"Sanji,"

Sanji chuckled, tilting his head to the other side. "Don't give me that look, marimo! I'm not dead, you idiot, I'm here, right…" Suddenly the blond was gone. Zoro straightened up and looked horrified around. He called his name, but he had turned deaf to his own voice. "_here…_!" Zoro almost jumped out of his own skin as the blond suddenly appeared right beside him, on his hands and knees, whispering into his ear. He fell, Sanji crawled on top of him and nuzzled his nose against his nose. He felt a finger press against his chest, pointing at the heart hiding underneath the clothes, skin and behind the ribs. "Always…" He whispered as he leaned down, closing the gab between their lips "here…!"

He woke up with a start, looking confused at his surroundings. He was alone, of course he was alone. "Haven't had a dream like that for months." He mumbled, and groaned as he sat up, his head was pounding, the neck sore from laying with his head over the edge of a book. Must have dozed off while barely managing to close said book, to the sound of the howling wind and the cracking of the fire –the sounds were like a comforting lullaby.

Zoro almost wept up with a yelp, jumping out of his own skin as it suddenly knocked on the door. _Fuck! _He _had _to learn not to get so comfortable that a knock on the door would scare the hell shit out of him! Blinking confused while easing his pounding heart, he looked up at the watch on the wall, seeing that it was only six o'clock in the evening. '_Can't be Nami,_' he thought '_she'll only get back at eleven or something… or did she stay over at Vivi's place? Naargh, don't remember. Beside, she wouldn't knock on her own door._'

"Who is it?" he called to the door, as he yawning made his way up to it, scratching his back and cracking his sore neck. But he got no answers at all. Lifting a brow he sneak peaked out of the window, but couldn't really see who it was, beside that the person wore a large jacket and a scarf, there almost were covering the half of the persons face. Damn light outside the door was broken again! Fumbling with the locks he finally manage to open the door.

He stops, jaw's slowly dropping as the floor feels like it's disappearing underneath him.

Can't be.

He must still be dreaming.

_Impossible_…!

He stares blankly at the person in front of him, not believing his eyes.

Then, without ever thinking twice, he reacts upon instinct, and instead of reaching out to pull the person into his arms, he reach out and gives him a clean jab right onto his already red-cold nose. Blinking, Zoro only realises too late what he has done.

"Oh crap. Uh, s-sorry about that,"

The blond man stumbles a few steps back, grabbing his abused bleeding nose.

"What the hell?" he shrieks, cursing the pain throbbing in his maybe broken nose. "Shit! What the fuck was _that _for?"

"Shit, your nose is bleeding!" Zoro says, as he sees clean blood almost flooding into the blonds' hand, running between his fingers, the crimson stuff dripping down onto the steps in front of the door.

"No kidding? Is it?" Sanji says sarcastically, moaning at the pain, suddenly feeling dizzy.

Without thinking much of Sanji's sudden return, Zoro pushes his head up, so the blood won't drip that easily from the nose, and takes him inside. Leading him towards the kitchen, he hurries to find some cotton ball, a washcloth, and a bag of something cold to cool down the swelling nose.

"Fuck it hurts," the blond moans, leaning his head against one of the cupboards, as he sits on the counter, letting Zoro treating his nose. Zoro makes a face as he tries to stop the bleeding, while cleaning the pale face from any traces of blood. He cringes as he sees that the jacket and scarf is far out of reach to be saved. Damn it.

"I told you that I was sorry," he mumbles, though curses at himself for manhandling the greeting of his long lost past lover the way he did. He still had no idea of why the heck he had reacted the way he did, he just, _acted. _Was it because he was angry at the blond running after him like that and not taking the life he practically was giving him? Was it because that the idiot had made him so much worried, or was it because he was angry at himself for accepting the blond just being _gone _and when he suddenly stands there out on the step, just wanted to take him in and never let go of him again?

"You're pressing too hard," Sanji groans as the abused bleeding nose throbs even more. Zoro mumbles an apologize and stops his hand from crunching the nose even more, to just hold the cotton tenderly against it so it can absorb the blood properly.

They sits and stands there in silence, an awkward feeling growing in between the two of them, while Zoro still tries to stop the most of the bleeding. Sanji tilts his head down to take a better look at him. Zoro hasn't changed much, beside that his hair might have gotten a bit longer, enough to style it back. It actually looks good, makes the man look more… well… adult-like? Manly? _Could _the musclehead even look more manly than before? Apparently he could, and it wouldn't surprise him if he had pumped some more iron since… last time. He wants to touch the green mossy hair, without thinking, the hand moves on his want. It still feels soft, if not softer than he remembered from last time he'd touched it. The glasses resting on his nose hides an almost invisible scar running over the man's left eye, same eye doesn't have the same strong colour as it used to have. Tilting his head just a little more, he runs his hand down from the softness of the green hair to the chin right underneath the glasses.

"Your eye," he almost whispers, pained to see the almost grey-like membrane covering it.

"Keep you head up," Zoro says, pushing the head up, brushing the hand off of his face. His skin tingles were the hand have touched him, the tingle spreads like a virus to the half of his face, begging to feel the softness of the other's hand again, but he ignores it.

Sanji sighs, giving up and lets the other treat him the way he want to, though he feels a tucking feeling inside of him, so much, that it feels like it's going to crunch every part of his vital organs, especially that big hammering thing there feels like it's going to burst out at any moment. Zoro doesn't even look him in the eyes, he's wearing a face there shows no feelings, and it pains him to see.

"You told anyone that you're back?" it's the best thing Zoro can think of saying in the moment. He glances up at the two blue eyes, then looks away again at once, afraid of to be spellbound by their beauties. He presses the clothes against the nose a bit too hard again, pulling a wince out of the other this time. "Sorry,"

"Hn," Sanji responded, looking up at the familiar ceiling above him. In the past, when they all came to Nami's place, or whoever's place, Sanji was the one chosen to stand in the kitchen, cooking the dinner. But he did never mind, he had never minded doing that, because he loved cooking. Cooking meant nothing if you couldn't share it with others. What cook would ever make himself a pristine dinner? None! He would even dare to say that he knew each of their friends kitchens much better, than the person themselves; that many times he had been standing in them. He even could remember where the sugar used to stand here in Nami's kitchen, and that there had been moving a bit around in here since the last time he'd been there.

"Only Luffy and Nami so far," He said, taking in a shivering breath of air "He… told me that you were back, and where I could find you," Zoro hummed, nodding in response.

'_Where the fucking hell have you __**been **__all this time then?_' he wants to ask, the question almost burning in his chest, wanting to come out.

"Is there a particular reason for that you wanted to see me?" He says instead, finishing his treatment of the other man's nose. "There, it looks like it had stopped bleeding, but keep these in your nose a little bit longer, just in case." He says putting in two rolled cotton balls so they each fitted perfectly into each nostril. "Keep this on for safe; it looks like it's swelling just a little,"

"Damn, is it broken?" Zoro shook his head.

"Don't think so, but keep it on just in case until the swelling stops," Sanji groaned in response, taking against the bag of frozen peas, wrapped in a dish towel.

"Yes, there defiantly is a reason for that I wanted to see you," he finally says as he answers on the others question, sighing as the cold bag touches his burning nose. "We have some unresolved business." Finally being able to look the other man in the eyes, he reaches a hand into his pocket, but halts for a moment as he stares at the other person, before dropping an object into his hand, that he motion to stretch out.

A watch.

Zoro recognised the expensive John & Yosaku watch immediately, and once again feels his insides smoulder. The watch that he wanted to give him, but couldn't… because of…_him._ He wraps his fingers around the little object, feeling the cool glass against his own warm skin, as his hands trembles.

He used all his fortune to buy this thing, and the clothes he wore that evening. Everything had been planned, every nerve had been ready to confess out on that balcony… but it was all shot down as he saw that the blond wore yet another watch, just like this one, and that it was from Ace.

"Why'd you ever come searching me?" he asked, what, five seconds, five minutes later? Perhaps hours? He didn't know, but looking up at the blond who pulled the frozen pea-bag off, laid it on the counter, he pulled out the cottons out of his nose, tested if it still bleed or not, and then tilted his head as he smiled at him with _that _soft smile, Zoro felt his heart make a little exciting jump. Sanji swung his legs, just like a little kid sitting on the counter.

"Why do _you_ think?" he asks calmly, his visible eye, the left one -he had changed his hair so that the long bangs hang over his right eye instead, Zoro noticed- glimpsing in the light from the lamp in the kitchen. Zoro shrugs, then looks down at the watch in his hand. Turning it around to take a look at the back of it, he furrows his brows when he sees no text on it. It takes him almost a whole minute before he realise that this isn't the watch that he bought to Sanji… but the watch from Ace. Eyes widening he looks surprised up at the blond, who smiles even wider at him, one hand clasping the wrist of his left hand.

"I don't want that watch, it means nothing to me," he says, eyes resting on the watch on his wrist instead "this though, means everything to me. The one who gave me it, or wanted to, worked his ass off just to buy me a thing that I've dreamed of to ever be able to wear, though…" he ran his fingers over it, like caressing a lover's face "I was too blind to ever see how much he even loved me, and too stupid. I ruined what we had, fucking tramped on it, not even realising what I did actually was wrong and hurt _him _more than I actually thought. I thought that he was starting to hate me for that, wanted to get rid of me, thought more of his job than… anything else. But… I was just too blind. That he did, all that, pushed himself out in danger, just to buy me a thing, a thing that I've always wanted…" He clenched his fist around the watch, unaware of that the other was moving slowly closer towards him again, "I never managed to tell him, how much, I actually loved him… still loves him… of my whole heart. When he then suddenly disappeared, because of my fucking stupidity again and some shitty misunderstandings, it felt like my whole world crumbled… I've been such a shitty-"

A hand on his hand stops him from saying whatever there would have come next. He looks up at the person in front of him, but Zoro's warm eyes are resting on their hands, he shivers in delight by the touch that he has missed so much, wishing, praying to every God if they just could stand like this in eternities. He's almost breaking; he can feel it, watching him watching their hands, feeling the warmness from the skin seeping into his hand, listening to his unsteady breathing, almost being able to even hear his heart beating as fast as his own. So long, way too long. There had even been moments where he had thought… the worst. That Zoro was dead, buried, gone. The most horrible thoughts had come to him after he had heard the news for about, what was it? Already a half year ago? But he kept on pushing himself to not believe that. Zoro wasn't like that, Zoro would never be like that. Not that weak, not like him. Zoro was a strong man, are still, always will be.

He doesn't resist as Zoro suddenly zips his jacket open, or when he pulls only the one arm out of it, to take a better look at the watch around his wrist. He turns it one way, and then the other way, his skin tickles by the careful caress from the thumb, almost burns in delight.

"It looks… good on you," Zoro says in a deep voice, sending Sanji's feelings skyrocketing without even knowing it. His heart is beating faster than ever, his whole _body_ screams to touch more of that creamy skin, not knowing that the blond feels just like the same.

Suddenly his glasses gets taken off, and his head tilted upwards. An ocean blue eye looks sadly, apologetic into his, spellbinds him so that he can't take his eyes off them again. Taking in a shivering breath of air, he gasps as a delicate slender hand strokes his face, he can't help himself from leaning in closer into that long wanting touch. It's so warm, so soft and gentle. A thumb caresses the skin underneath his left eye, stroking it slowly, tenderly.

"It's because it's from you," the blond whispers to him, slowly he moves closer to his face as he speaks. Zoro doesn't move, he's spellbound by that eye, that face, that hand cupping his face, and that thumb stroking his skin gently. His eyes are only half open, his breathing shivering as his lungs almost constricts. This is wrong, this is so much wrong, but he has missed this closeness, he has missed his smell so much, the soft skin, those eyes… everything… therefore he does not move as the blond closes the gab in between them, and seals his lips with his own.

First it's just a testing touch, then he moves his lips slowly, gently kissing him, carefully licks the others lips. As the lips parts, mouth opens to let him in, he deepens the kiss, and sighs as he feels the other kissing back, just as gently, lovingly. Their hearts beats in synch; they can almost feel it as they press themselves flush against each other.

Sanji's free hand moves up into green strands of hair, grasping it, moving their faces closer, as if he can't get close enough, as if he can't get enough of him.

Zoro's hand wanders slowly up along the blonds' arm, feeling how the other's body shivers, trembles from his touches. The other hand moves up to the blonds right shoulder, slowly pushing the jacket off him, the hand even leaves his head to pull out of the jacket, only to grab it tighter, pulling him in between his legs there wraps themselves around him, trapping him. But he doesn't care to be caught in this trap. As if in one thought, they both move their heads to each of their left, to get another angle of their kiss, to deepen their longing needs.

There's no world around them. There is no past, nor any future. There's no kitchen, no house to hold them warm, because the warm comes from the two bodies in front of each other, the heat comes from their touches. There exist nothing around them, there's nothing… nothing in this world other than the two of them, this counter, and their kisses. There are no sounds other than the sounds of their gasps and the sounds of their hearts beating faster.

There is nothing but the two of them and their longing love for each other.

And they're both drunk. Drunk from the intoxicating smell from each other, from the touches, the heat from the other's skin, from their lips dancing with each other, from the taste of each other, drinking, keeps on drinking the alcohol, keeps on eating the drug named_ love_ and _lust._

They can feel each other's hands everywhere, pulling at the clothes, pushing it, grasping, touching longingly the naked skin underneath it.

Zoro doesn't even know when they're moving, but some when he can feel the blonds' legs holding tighter around his body. He barely remembers moving up along some stairs, before their kiss parts and he drops the blond into a bed. He doesn't even remember whose bed it is, and he doesn't even care. All what he care about is this beautiful blond laying on this bed, arms and legs spread out to welcome him, hair tousled showing off those two oceanblue eyes looking longingly, needing, oh so fucking lustfully back up at him.

He can barely breathe; he needs air and leans down to have some, as he seals their lips once again. Hands moves underneath his sweatshirt, while his own strokes the sides of the thinner form underneath him –to his dismay it's much thinner than he remembers, he even can feel the ribs pointing out here and there, even his hipbones-, pulling a needing moan out from the other. His pants tightens, almost suffocates him. He groans as one of the hands moves away from his chest, and down to greet the needing limb. An expertly hand strokes it slowly, and he can't stop his hips from moving against the touch. He moans into the kiss as the hand dry-strokes him, and never before has he hated clothes as much as he did now. Off. It needed to get off before it killed him!

As could the blond read his mind, long fingers moves from wherever they have been, to pull the belt open, opening the zipper slowly. Zoro's own fingers are moving slowly to pop up each button of the blue shirt hiding the creamy skin underneath it, and carefully pulls it off, while Sanji's two fingers hooks at the rim of his pants, the rest of the hands inside of them, strokes his skin as he pulls the garment slowly off. Zoro helps him with the rest of the task and kicks the clothes off himself.

He lays a hand on top of Sanji's, as he's about to open his own pants. "Let me," he whispers into the blonds' ear, voice raw with need, the sound of it sends shivers through the other's body. He crawls down, opens the belt with his fingers, but uses his teeth as he opens the zipper.

Sanji want to reach out for him, but he can't. He's too paralyzed as he watch the other pulling the zipper down using his teeth, as he feels the heat from his mouth bath his pants as it moves over his swelling member. It's almost too much. "Zoro," he pants, almost in a whisper, the name rolling off his tongue again and again, before it gets cut off with a gasp, as the clothes disappears completely from his body, even shoes and socks, freeing the painful needing limb from its trap. He watches that lovingly mouth looming over his lower part, hot breath bathing it, before it without a warning disappears into the hot wet cave of the other's mouth. "Oh god~" his eyes rolls into the back of his head, and he can't stop his loud moans from escaping. It feels so good, so wonderful. Sanji moves in the bed, pressing his back against the soft surface, his hips up, deeper, more, more. He wants more.

Zoro uses his tongue to caress the underside of the blonds' penis, using his teeth to scrape against the sensitive heated skin as he moves his head up and down. The blond is writhing with need, whispering his name again and again. He buries his nose in the crotch, sniffs in the smell he loves so much, that he has missed so much. He mumbles his name while he has him in deep in his mouth, ripping a long moan out of the blond. He knows that he likes it; he knows that he _loves_ it.

He can feel that his release are nearing, he can even smell it from his sweat as he works him closer to his climax. Sanji takes his one hand, closing the fingers into a fist, except for one finger. He leaps his tongue out to touch it, taste it, before he pulls the whole of it into his mouth, sucking it, wetting it. Zoro moans, the sound sending vibrations through the length, ripping a moan out of the other as well, sending him closer to his climax. Then he takes another finger into his mouth, opens it slowly from the fist, and then a last one.

Zoro knows what he's doing, and as the blond gives his three fingers a last wet lick, his fingers are slicked enough to be pressed into the blonds' hole, one at a time, stroking him, opening him slowly, widening him, making him ready. The last stroke was far too much, and soon he tastes the blonds' semen as he comes, a lot. He crawls up to kiss him, Sanji response eagerly back, no words needed to say that he wants him _now_.

"How do you want it?" Zoro asks with a deep lustful voice, Sanji hums just by the sound of it. He grabs the other's head, burying his fingers into the soft green hair as he bites his chin just a little, licking it, then kisses it.

"You know, how I want it," he pants. An almost wolfish smile appears on Zoro's lips, he groans in appreciation.

"You dirty little dog," he growls, dips down to lick his throat. It's like nothing had ever happened, like they never had been parted, like things never had changed. They're back then when there where no troubles, no worries, back in that cabin one cold weekend, up in a place somewhere in Canada. Without knowing it, Sanji feels like that they're back there as well; everything else forgotten but the two of them and their lust for each other. He strokes his feet against that strong ass of the other, wanting him more than ever, and smirks up at him.

"Mmm, only yours, your dog, your pure little puppy," he purrs. Zoro chuckles, sighing deeply and turns the blond onto his stomach. He doesn't have to lift him up, as that wonderful ass of his are already sticking up into his face. Pulling a larger smile, he bites the one cheek teasingly, ripping a surprised gasp from the other. "You, stop teasing me, just –god," Sanji clenches his fists in the bed sheets, stretches his neck, moaning out loud, as he feels that wonderful tongue of his lick him from his sensitive limb, between his two sags, then goes up, further up, until it dips into his hole, digging in deep, bathing him.

Then the tongue disappears and something much larger presses into him.

"Ow! Wait, waitwaitwait, ah, shit! Hurts!"

"Sorry, have no lubricant," Zoro says while he's pushing himself fully inside without waiting, and it hurts like hell since he can't make it to adjust himself in time either. Zoro licks him behind the ear to apologize, kissing his shoulder blades as he waits for him to adjust, then pulls out slowly until only the head of his penis are inside of him.

"How do you want it?" he asks again, "fast?" he moves his hips fast, thrusting hard in and out of his tight ass, shoving him hard into the bed. Sanji are almost tearing the sheets underneath him as he tries to hold on, moaning, then nods. Oh yes, he want it like this, fuck the missing lubricant, he just want him freaking _now_. "Or slowly like this?" moving his hips painfully slowly, the blond shakes his head. Going against the blonds' wishes, he moves slowly in an out of him. Sanji groans at the extreme slowness, and moves his hips to meet him, telling him to stop teasing him and hurry the fuck up. Zoro chuckles, ignores him just a little bit more, before he gives him what he want.

The bedsprings creaks loudly as he gets fucked hard into the bed, high vocals escapes his mouth, he has always been so loudmouthed, it's always embarrassed him, but, oh god, how could he not when Zoro takes him like that and begs him to stop biting his own arm to silence himself, that he want to hear him as loud as possible? Sanji's nothing but a wreck of lust as the other plummets deep inside of him, heightening his vocals so loud that he suspects even the neighbours being able to hear him. His loud, lustfully moans only puts fuel to the iron-worker's inner fire, making him moving even faster and even harder. He can't describe how he feels; heavenly would not even match up to it. His whole body are floating in ecstasy, every cell in his body are bursting with joy. He doesn't know the names of things anymore, its animalistic sounds there leaves his mouth by now, he doesn't even know what's up or down either, only what's in an out, because he can feel it. Zoro's groans turns him only even more on, if _that _even is possible. Nails digging into his skin, he knows that it'll leave marks, but he doesn't care, all what he cares about is what's going on right here, right now.

Zoro are in no better state, but at least he got enough senses to feel the need, the want to see the others face, to see his expression as he comes, he wants his lips, he wants to swallow those oh so wonderful sounds, he want to taste him, lick him, kiss him.

"I want to see your face," he pants into his ear, it's the blonds' only warning before he gets flipped over onto his back. Sanji get's the idea fast, spreads his long legs to invite the other in, and wraps them around the strong hips, as the length returns inside of him, this time working a bit slower, just to put the final end further away, but this time he doesn't mind it, he doesn't want it end this fast either, he just want to keep on, never wanting to stop. Zoro's arms wraps around him, pulls him into his chest, while he moves in and out of him. Sanji moves his hips up to meet him, clenching around the length inside of him, ripping heating moans out of the other.

Eyes staring back at one another, lustfully, Sanji can't stop wondering about what happened to Zoro's one eye, but that's the only thought he gets, before his mouth gets sealed by said person's lips. The kiss is slow, lovingly, caringly. All words there could have been said about their feelings for each other, pores out through their kiss. Zoro's hips starts to move faster, grounding in deeper, a hand sneaks in between them to stroke Sanji's now fully erect length, and he falls, deep into the ocean of pure lust, happiness and perfection. They can't wait anymore, they both want to feel that perfect feeling. The heat grows in his guts spreads out through his whole body as he feels his climax nearing.

Zoro quickens his movements, thrusting in and out of the blond, feeling himself getting closer as well. Sanji's mumbling his name as they parts to gasps for air. He's so close that it's making him dizzy. There's no correlation in anything anymore, he can't even think clearly, the movements becomes an unconscious part of him, like breathing in air. He's thrusting so hard that his hips are about to get numb, the closer he gets. He can't even feel his hand any longer, the one wrapped around Sanji's pulsing length, jerking him off into completion. As Sanji comes, hard and much in between them, in his hand there can't stop moving, he seals his mouth once again as the blond moans his name out, steals it before anyone else but him would be able to hear it.

The blond whimpers underneath him as he's still stroking his now too sensitive limb, while still thrusting hard in and out of him, though the blond still are thrusting unconsciously up to meet him.

"Zoro, noh, nho more. Shi -hah! Much… too m-mmm~!"

"Fuck… _Sanji…_!" he's close, really close. Sanji's a whole mess underneath him as he finally comes inside of him, growling like another animal in the heat. Panting, trying to catch his breath, their hips are still moving against each other, riding Zoro's climax out. Sanji's laying sprawled underneath him, chest heaving, panting desperately for air, trying to relax his heart, whose fast beatings Zoro can hear, or maybe it's his own heart that he can hear… or the both of them.

They shares some sloppy kisses, none of them aware of who started it, and Sanji accidently bites a hole in his lip, as Zoro pulls himself out of the whimpering slender body underneath him. They're sweating a lot, but even so they wrap their arms even more around each other. Sanji rolls onto his side, pulling the iron-worker with him down to lay beside him. They lay their, kissing each other lazily in the sweet afterglow. They're even almost dozing off with their lips connected, just want to taste the other until the sleep would take them away, just wanting to lie in those familiar arms and never leave them again. After what feels like hours, what might be so since he feels a bit rested and less sore in the ass, Sanji rolls to the side of the bed to get his pants where his smokes are hidden. Pulling a cigarette forth, he lit one for himself, breathes in the nicotine and fully enjoys the afterglow of their, lovemaking? Fuck? What could you call it? Both? He doesn't even care, and just keeps enjoying that wonderful feeling of completion and being well rested, with Zoro snuggling into his side, snoring silently.

Sanji's just about to doze off once again, never felt this well in such a long time. Not wanting to put the whole place on fire, he search for an ashtray, grumbles a little as he doesn't find any. Zoro, who's been awake for a little while by now, are just watching the blond as he frantically search for an ashtray or just something to stuff the cigarette out into. They used to have one at home at their bed, because Sanji loved to take a smoke right after they had done it. "Sex is not complete before you've smoked your afterglow-cig," the chef used to call it. Zoro chuckled by the memory of it, remembering that he'd told him right up that he needed no smokes to enjoy sex fully, and if he liked his smokes better, he could just go fuck with them instead. _That_ had brought them into a fight… and the fight had brought them to more intimacy, more forceful kisses and rough sex.

Since then Zoro hadn't been able to stop teasing him with it, whenever he felt he was up for a second round, and he knew that Sanji knew it as well.

He chuckles as he sees the blonds' naked ass stick right up in the air, as he's even looking underneath the bed for something to crush the smoke into, but there exist no such things as ashtrays in the whole of Nami's house, only an old one standing outside in the garden.

Zoro closes his eyes again, feeling like he's floating on cloud nine, his body tired but fully in bliss. He's slowly dozing off again as he senses that there's something there's fully wrong in all of these good moments, something that he had forgotten.

Like, he'd done something horrible. Some kind of a déjà vu, but with him standing in it as the big fucker.

…Nami…

Suddenly snapping his eyes open, reality slaps him hard in the face. Nami!

Eyes widening he sits up promptly, almost pushes the blond off the bed. God, the blond. _Sanji_!

"FUCK!" Zoro says out loud, as he looks around perplexed for his pants. He feels his wonderful mood shot to shit, his nice sweet little comforting bubble which he had enjoyed in the company with the man he loved so much, bursting.

His pants… where the hell is his pants? Damn it, damn it, damn it! He hurriedly jumps out of bed and puts on his clothes, scrambling to gather them –where the hell _is _his pants? Finally finding them he puts them on fast, fumbles with the zipper as he moves to the bed, gathering the messy sheets.

"You bastard!" Zoro curses as he does it, glaring at the blond. "Move your ass!" he says ripping in the sheet, causing said blond to finally tumble fully out of the bed, completely surprised by the sudden outburst, and throws the sheets in the hamper.

"What the hell, moss-head?" Sanji says in response, sitting up, rubbing his head from the rough greeting with the floor "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"WE CAN'T DO THIS!" Zoro yells louder than necessary to express his distress, his eyes red from the welling emotions, and cheeks flushed from the afterglow. "You didn't want me back then! I had to build up a new life without you in it!" He explains loudly, while he's making the bed, glaring at what he's doing, not fully daring to look the blonds in the eyes, yet alone his face. God, oh god, what had he done? Why had he given in so easily? Why had he come back? Why hadn't he comed back earlier before it had been… too late? Fuck! Why couldn't he just not… why was things so fucking complicated? "You missed a lot of crap asshole! I got news for you! I'm taking classes, studying to get myself a 'real' job, I got a new place, a new life, because I had to rebuild it around that fucking hole that was _you_! That hole is all patched up now, and I'll be damned if you think that you just can waltzes back in and force your way in to all the new stuff! I'm dating somebody! I'm FINALLY over you and now…" '_Oh god, what a terrible liar I am! I want you, more than anything, but I got Nami. She loves me, but I want you more than anything, but I can't. Life's not like that. I can't do this to her, not after all what she has done for me._'

Sanji has been sitting all quiet, all stunned as he listened to the man's outburst, emotions high on tale. As Zoro stands up tall, finally looks at the stunned chef, he can feel that he's close to break down once again. He can barely spit out the last nonsense, he don't want to, but he's so angry, not at the blond, not at all, but at himself. He takes a shivering breath of air before speaking again, not wanting to crumble in front of the blond. If things just wasn't so complicated.

"Now you just have to come back and wreck my life a second time, because the first attempt wasn't good enough!"

Lie, lie, lie, lie, _lies_!

He doesn't even mean the half of the shit he's spouting about the other man, but he's so angry, so furious that he couldn't stop himself from saying it.

"I never said that I didn't want you!" the blond shouts back, visibly hurt by the sudden attack of words, his visible eye thundering with emotions, it hurts to look into it, but Zoro refuses to look down, to run away again. He _deserves _to see that pain he's causing the blond. Sanji stands up, tall and naked, just as furious, as he comes over the shock. "You just never had the balls to come up and ask me! Actually fucking _tell _me!" He stepped closer to the man, but was stopped by the bed standing in between them, separating them from each other. His hands are clenched tight into fists, shaking. "By the time I finally figured out with my fucking slow brain, what kind of a game you were playing, what shit I've done, how much I _fucking _have _hurt _you, you were long gone with your tail between you legs! I left looking for you bastard! I wanted to fix a mess you could've prevented by GROWING A FUCKING PAIR and confess, damn hell give me a chance! I had to deal with the guilt of running around, fully knowing that all this shit was my fault, I was fucking ready to go onto my knees and freaking _BEG_ you to forgive me, to come back! And now…" he takes in a trembling breath of air; tears are prickling in the corners of his eyes, no, don't break.

But he can't take this… it's too much.

All this time, all this searching, and this is what he gets. He has been such an ass… why… why hadn't he listened to him in the first place? Why the fuck had he been so stupid?

Then none of this would ever have happened.

He should _never _have brought Ace into their life. He should _never _even have _leaved _back to Sweden. If he just had stayed, like Zoro practically pleaded him to do, then nothing, none of this shit would never ever have happened. They would have been happy, Zoro would have given him that watch on that balcony, he would have confessed, he would have asked about _that_ and Sanji would have answered him with a big deep kiss, and they would have lived happily ever after.

But of course he just _had _to ignore Zoro, ignore the man's warnings, about _him, Ace._ Ace… really hadn't been what he first have thought.

God, how stupid he have been. So freaking mother fucking stupid, brainless and _blind._

"And now you're not even giving me a chance!" Sanji roared back, cursing the painful feeling inside of him. Even though that he literally are begging for a second chance, deep down, actually not that deep down again, he knows that he doesn't deserve it. He'd put Zoro through too much pain. What's the shit about the man confessing? Didn't he already know just from the looks the man always gave him, _how _much he loved him?

Zoro just stood there, fuming even more over his words –Sanji don't really blame him-, glaring down at him as wasn't he more worth than the shit he steps on the ground, if not less than even that. Sanji have never seen him like this before, well yes, once, as far as he remembers, and that was right after he had confessed that he had been sleeping with Ace, _once._ It's… almost scarring him. in a split-second he even fears that the man would go kill him right then and there, that's what this look almost screams at him.

"I never told you to run after me, did I?" Zoro spits back instead, with as much venom he can create.

Sanji scrunches his brows, panting, shivering all over his body. Why had the room suddenly gotten this cold? He glares at him as he build up to spit out the next words, furiousness, anger, pain, sadness and hurt filling those few words, yet they're so true that it pains him just to think at them, as he rolls Zoro's words yet again in his mind.

"IT'S BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVE YOU, DAMN IT!" he roars out, so close to breaking down fully. don't break down, don't show your weakness '_Always, always have loved you since… __**that **__day in the garden of this house._' He even wants to say, but can't bring himself to it, without knowing that he would fully break down if he did.

A tensing silence fills the room as the two men glares at one another, neither of them breaking their eye contact, neither of them speaking. The only sounds was their heavy pants from the yelling as they each other stood firm, eyes like knives. After what seemed like days, Zoro cracked, his eyes softening as he turned away.

"I… have a new life now." he barely whispered, Sanji hearing more than clearly in the silence.

"Please, at least give me some time," the blond whispers back, eyes darting between softening and hardening, not knowing what to feel.

Zoro sighs frustratingly, not looking at him, a hand running down his head, grasping his hair. This is hard, this is so damn fucking hard. Of course, he wants to, so much want to, but… he can't, he can't do this, not towards Nami, not to Sanji. He won't even know if he'll be able to control himself the next time, if he'd ever be able to stop himself from hurting Sanji for real, if what happened ever happened again. He wouldn't know if he'd ever survive a next time of failure. At least he's no danger towards Nami. '_Because that I don't love her as much as him? No, I can't even dare to say that._'

"You wrecked my heart," he finally says, looking up into two ocean blue eyes, the sea almost floating over in them. "I'm still afraid of letting anyone in, it's been hard enough to let _her _in." he hears a sob, but he forces himself to ignore it, though it feels like a stab through his heart. Of course. Of course he wants him back, he still _loves _him god damn it, but… he can't, not yet, not ever. It's too dangerous. _He _is too dangerous, to Sanji. He keeps lying up in the blonds' face, the lies hurts him, breaks him, it pains him to see the blond looking so lost, so hurt as well. But he doesn't dare to hope for the best… he's afraid… afraid to get hurt again, in _there_. Afraid to hurt, _him_. why can't the blond just not understand that?

"Please, just _one_ last chance…?" the cook literally begs him. God how he wants to reach out to touch him, his whole _body _is burning to pull him into his arms. But Zoro shakes his head, depression almost choking him.

"No… I can't… I got a new life, Sanji… without you in it."

Sanji looks at him, eyes floating with different kind of emotions, a stream of tears finally releasing, running down his heated chins, dropping off his jaw.

"…asshole." Sanji mutters as he grabs his clothes and charges out of the room, smacking the door shut behind himself. He hurries down the stairs, to take on his clothes, stuffs his feet into his shoes, emotions high on the brim. He have to get out, he have to get out of here before he'll collapse, before he'll break completely. Accidently his eyes lands on the expensive John & Yosaku watch that he had gotten from Ace, lying on the kitchen counter. Glaring at it he grabs it, had he had Zoro's strength in his upper body, he would have crunched it in his palm. He doesn't make to button up his shirt before he's charging out the front door, jacket left behind, but he don't care, he don't care a shit.

He didn't care if he even would freeze to death right now. Nothing meant anything for him any more. The meaning with life was all gone.

He had been warned about that love's a dangerous thing, an illness that you couldn't cure except being loved back, and if that didn't happen, it would kill you.

If he really was to die, he at least would kill a certain raven at first, who had helped him to fuck up his life!

SL-SL-SL-SL

Zoro listens as the blond scrambles down the stairs, he even can hear him taking on his clothes, before the last sound of the blond is heard as the front door gets pulled open, and said blond disappears out of his life.

He has no more strength in his legs anymore, and falls onto his knees. Fists hammering into the floor he roars up in despair, in anger.

Now… now he'd finally ruined the last change to be with his blond ever again.

Why was life always such a bitch?

SL-SL-SL-SL

Luffy looks over his class, as the students pack their stuff for then to hurry out and greet the upcoming weekend with a joyful 'hello'. But for Luffy, it was no nice time of the week. Since it was Friday, it also meant that he had to go out visiting his brother out in the Hospital, as he did every third day. Stacking the papers with a sigh, he makes his way down to his car. Some of the students greets him, actually most of them does; he's famous among them, that's far from what you could say about his colleague Spandam.

No wonder, he had never been interested in the students each personality, and never cared to help them, only to punish them if they did wrong. Luffy on the other hand realised that you could teach them a lot through fun and games… but though he was 'the weird crazy teacher' on Sunny High, students as much as many of the teachers as well respected him.

Shanks, his uncle, would have been proud of him if he had seen him now, defiantly if he made to become a rector on this school. '_Maybe I'll write him a letter soon, nah, he'll just think that I've hit my head and become weird._' Chuckling, his high mood soon falters as he reaches the parking lot of the Hospital. '_I wonder if Chopper's at work today?_' he thinks hopefully, hoping for to ask the young doctor if he wants to go out into the _PlayGame_ store, and look at some toys and games. Yes, Luffy might be a grownup, but he's still somewhat a child inside, but he doesn't care, and are only happy for that Chopper's sharing the same enthusiasm as he does.

Ace are barely speaking today, he just lays there in the bed stares up into the ceiling. Luffy doesn't speak either, just stares at him or out through the window. How long had it been now? Three weeks since it happened? Four? He still remember it as had it all just happened yesterday, as the blond chef, who finally had returned back home, came up to their house, asking to talk with Ace, and had beaten the hell shit out of him the moment the man showed his face in the door. Literally! Luffy remembered his mom scream as she saw how the young man she had grown so fond of, was close to killing her oldest son.

Had Luffy not come back home just in time, Ace would have been dead by now, and Sanji would have been sitting in jail accused for murder.

Hadn't Sanji collapsed into a wreck of tears and despair right after Luffy had hold the furious blond back from hurting Ace anymore, had he not bawled out of how much Ace had helped him in ruining his life, his father, yet alone his grandfather -the head of the Police Department in New York-, wouldn't had let the blond get out of there without being carried away in a body bag. They could easily make it up so it would look like he'd killed himself. Gramps had already been fumbling with the gun inside of his jacket.

Luffy had helped the blond back home to his own apartment, while his family had taken care of Ace getting to the hospital in time. The moment his brother had woken up, he had begged his father and grandfather from throwing Sanji into jail, saying that it _had _been his own fault for what happened, and that he was old enough to take the consequences of his own shit like a man.

Looked like the beating finally had woken Ace up, that it had brought back the 'old Ace'.

Speaking of…

He looked at his brother, who now had sat up in his bed, holding tight around the John & Yosaku watch that he had bought to Sanji for Christmas, the watch that Sanji literally had thrown in his face the moment he had opened the door.

Luffy didn't know what he was thinking, but he knew that he was regretting, a lot.

"I have to fix it, Luffy," he suddenly speaks up, causing his little brother to almost fall down from his chair, which he had been tipping on, completely bored and deep in thoughts. Two dark eyes looks his way, sadly, it _is _his brother, it is _Ace_ there's in there, regretting. "I have to make it better,"

"You know that he'll kill you, the next time you'll show up," he says, sounding far from his own enthusiastic person "and I won't stop him from it," Ace nods his head, accepting it.

"I know he will, and I don't blame him," he looks down on the watch, caressing it as was he caressing a lover's hand "I've been a complete fucked up idiot, I don't deserve anything else but that,"

"Zoro'll kill you too," he points out, knowing exactly what's going on in his brother's mind in the moment. The older man chuckles, it's the familiar laugh that he has missed so much.

"You'll help me, right?"

Luffy acts like he's thinking hard "Hmmm… Nnnope!" he answers, pulling yet another warm laugher out of his brother.

"Haha! I thought so, you weakling." He says, smiling. Luffy smiles back.

Yup! Ace had _finally_ returned back!

SL-SL-SL-SL

He's in a high mood as he walks down the streets, arm in arm with both Chopper and Usopp, humming and singing loudly to an old nursery rhyme, completely out of tune. Peoples on the street are so used to other's 'weird' behaviour, that this scene doesn't bother them one bit, though they're not that fond of a certain straw hat wearing raven's high tunes, there are so high on level, that it almost makes the glass in the stores breaking, and the dogs howling in the gardens.

After a long evening in the stores, looking on the newest electronics, games and such, while listening to one of Usopp's pirate-stories, they're heading for said person's home to play the newest action game _Crysis 2._

"Stop jumping like a rabbit on speed, damn it, I'm opening the dooras fast as I can!" the long-nosed engineer-student explains with a grunt, grumbling at his key there don't want to turn in the lock, then smirks as it finally does.

"I'm hungry," Chopper whines, sticking his tongue out as he looks around the aisle, while Usopp declares the door for being open. Luffy, who had already jumped inside, stuck his head out, grinning.

"I'm hungry too." His rumbling stomach backs him up on his words "Hey, let's go ask Sanji to cook us something, then he can play games with us as well!" He's already at the stairs, Chopper happily behind him, before Usopp stops them.

"I don't think that's any good idea, guys," he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Huh? Why not, Usopp? Something wrong?" Chopper asks, sounding pretty concerned, Usopp sighs, scratching his neck even fiercely.

"What?" Luffy asks calmly, seeing that something not good is bothering his friend.

"It's just… Sanji haven't really been himself lately, you know? I mean," he lowers his voice so not to be heard by others, "He's… not, good for companies any longer,"

Luffy frowns. "I don't understand a word of what you're saying, why's Sanji not good for companies?" Chopper glances worriedly up at the stairs, leading up to the blonds' apartment. Usopp only get's to open his mouth, before a bottle tumbles down the stairs, hitting the wall and splinters. A hesitant 'shit' is to be heard, and Chopper immediately recognises the voice. Before the engineer-student can say anything else, the two of them are already up the stairs, and he hears the surprising gasp coming from their younger friend.

Chopper's eyes widens as he sees a pretty drunk blond standing and fumbling with his keys, trying to pry whatever key into the lock, until he finally finds the right one. At his feet lays a fallen plastic bag where lots of bottles have rolled out from. As the door opens, he uses the doorframe to help himself getting down to knee-level to pick up the escaped bottles, putting them into the bag again. He honestly looks like a homeless drunkard; clothes crumbled, though not all too dirty, hair tousled, a complete mess, and his face completely unshaven.

"He's… drunk…!" he exclaims, though they all can see it. It's a horrible sight. The blond there used to take so much time to make himself look good, always was careful not to get his clothes dirtied, roared at anybody who even _dared _to touch his hair and ready to kill anyone who made fun of his looks, now stood there like another destitute person.

Usopp sighs behind them, while they all watch with a crunching feeling the poor man crawling on all four legs to pick up each bottle. Some of the alcohol seemed to be pretty strong, something there normally _never _would have touched the chef's tongue.

"He's been like this for almost three weeks." The curled-haired engineer-student finally explains. Neither Luffy nor Chopper turns around to look at him, too shocked at the sight in front of them, though they were listening. It seemed like the blond still hadn't seen them. "Ever since, well, since he came back, he's been like this. Even the Baratie don't want him inside their walls, says that he's scarring off the customers, and that they don't want a mourning drunkard in their kitchen, he was kicked out by Zeff, telling him to stay home and get his pea-head clear again, before he should dare showing his face in the _near _of the Baratie. After that, it actually went worse. He's barely leaving his apartment, and when he finally does it either to get out to drink or to buy some. He's not even cooking anything for himself anymore. Me and Franky have switched to come up with some food to him, but he barely touch it, and when he finally does it's mostly take-away and-"

"I don't wanna hear more," Luffy says in a dark voice, brows furrowed, fists clenched at his sides as he walks up to the blond, while Chopper and Usopp keeps on talking about how him and Franky should have told them, and then something about medical treatment or such, Luffy didn't care. What he cared about was how far deep his normally joyful friend had fallen, ever since Zoro turned his back on him, denied to forgive and let him back in. It was horrible to look at. "Sanji," he says as he stands beside the blond. Said blond looks up when his name gets mentioned a second time as well. He looks at him as doesn't he recognise him at first, then what felt like minutes, the blond finally does and gives him a drunken smile.

"Luffy! I haven't seen y-you in ace-ages!" Laughing, he fights to get up, but with no such luck. Luffy grinds his teeth hard together, then kneels down beside the blond, helping him to pick up the last rolled bottles, before Chopper comes to help as well. Usopp stands and watches, before he comes to carry in the bag into the open apartment. Sanji laughs again as he get's helped up, though there's no joy in it, and slings his arms around the smaller person to give him a hug. "I'vemissed seeing yi-you so, ssso mmuch, Luphy, _Luffy_," Luffy hugs him back, wrinkling his nose from the sharp smell of alcohol. He feels him up a little, feeling that the blond is barely skin and bones, frowns deepens even more.

"Take those out," he orders, Usopp looks up at him questioningly, but does not argue as he sees his serious face.

"Nno! Nooh!" The blond, still holding around his friend with one arm, reach his other arm longingly out for the bag with alcohol. Chopper is already by his side to help supporting him inside, as Luffy tells him that he needs some sleep. Sanji frowns and pouts at his friend, not even seen Chopper yet, who almost stumbles alongside him on the way in. "Youh nnot nise as, at all Lluffy. You're a really really bad, _bad_ person, ya know?" They're already in the apartment, scrunching their noses at the horrible stank of alcohol and… something else. "I knew you'd be jhust like Athe, A-_Ace_, brothelike, bloodline, such," Sanji points his finger into Luffy's chest to point out each word, while the raven, with the help from Chopper, tries to help the blond off with his clothes.

They know that the blond hasn't even realised that they're in his bedroom, trying to strip him down, not before Luffy reaches down to opening his pants. The blond smirks knowingly at him and careers his cheek lovingly.

"I didn't knohw that you want me so bad, L-Luffy," he croaks, letting his fingers running down the other's chest. Chopper's blushing beside him, but Luffy doesn't make a single expression at it all. The blonds' arms are on each of his shoulders now, as he rubs his nose into his soft hair, pushing the hat just a bit askew. But Luffy ignores him, and pulls off his pants. Sanji chuckles and steps out of his garment, while he's breathing in the smell of pure Luffy, "Mmm, I honestly n-neverr thought you'd sweingh both ways," his voice are arousing, he presses himself closer up at the raven, while he kisses his chin. Luffy turns his face away, and helps to guide the drunken blond into bed, but the blond doesn't let go of him that easily and pulls him with him down. He mumbles something none of them understands of, but Luffy brushes his arms off him, telling him that he needs sleep. Though he complains, the blonds' out cold few seconds later.

Chopper sniffs, then cries silently at the sight of their friend.

Luffy chose to stay there over the night over, and tells both Usopp and Chopper that they should go home and get some sleep themselves, then they would discuss matters the next day. He sat at the blonds' side, on a chair beside the bed, not closing an eye the whole night, not even feeling the temptation to sleep at all, just sits there and watches over his sleeping friend. The waking night also brings him a lot of time to think things through. What had Zoro been thinking? He _loved _Sanji like nothing else, he'd always said that, always. Just because that they'd been separated for about nine month, doesn't mean that he would stop loving the blond, no matter what he would. Luffy could see the longing in his eyes, behind that dead cold look that he had created ever since his return, and always tried to warm up whenever he saw one of his friends. But Luffy knew him better, he knew the two of them even better than they ever self would do. eHeH What had they _both _been thinking? And then they said that _he _was brainless?

He had to talk with Zoro soon… before this would kill either of them.

Sanji woke up only at ten in the morning the next day, far from his early wakening there normally was at either five or six o'clock in the morning. He grumbled, scrunching his eyes as a streak of light hits his face, clearly having a painful hangover. He turns onto his side, and stretches an arm out to pat the nightstand beside the bed. As he doesn't find what he's searching for, he looks up, a single blue eye scanning the place.

"Where's my beer," he asks no one in particular, but Luffy answers him none the less.

"We've removed all kind of alcohol out of your apartment," he says sternly, but not angrily. Sanji looks surprised up at him, blinking confused at the person beside him.

"L-Luffy?" he asks, as can't he really believe what he's seeing. Luffy nods.

"You need help, Sanji," he explains, but the blond only grumbles into the pillow.

"I don't need _help_! I've told that longnose already, damn it," he says, voice still raw from drinking too much of the hard liquid, and coughs badly.

"But you didn't tell me," Luffy points out, as the coughing fit has settles down. Sanji glares a single eye at him.

"But I'm telling you _now_; I don't _need _anyone's _help_. I'm fine as I am, _thanks_! Now, get me something to drink or let me sleep, I don't need this shit again," Luffy nods, and goes out to get him something to drink, as he comes back he gives the blond the glass, who takes it eagerly, and almost chokes as said blond realises that its defiantly _not _alcohol, but _water_. "I told you to give me something to drink, or piss off!"

"I _did _get you something to drink," Luffy points out stubbornly, not backing down an inch from the blonds killing glare. Sanji growls, then places the glass on the nightstand a bit too hard than necessarily.

"_Nice,_ _thanks_!" He says sarcastically and waves a hand at him "Now piss off, I need some sleep."

"You need some help, Sanji."

The blond growls at him and buries his head deep into the pillow as the headache is clearly torturing him again. Luffy kneels down beside his bed and lays a comforting hand on his naked back.

"Let me help you, Sanji, please. Just give me _one _single chance?" Something about _that_ word stirs something inside of the blond, as he flinch visibly. He lies still for more moments, before he sighs deeply and looks up at the raven beside him.

"_Fine_! Do whatever the fuck you want, damn it!"

Luffy beams inside, but smiles at the outside. "I defiantly will!"

Sanji only growls in answer.

SL-SL-SL-SL

One week later though, Sanji was back in his shit. It had been a torture to live with the thoughts and the memories, because whenever he looked at his friends, they reminded him of _him_, and _that _was horrible.

Sanji was wobbling down the streets again, mind clouded in alcohol. He'd just been kicked out from the Baratie again; none of the cooks carrying about that it is _him _who is the boss. Fucking Zeff fucking kicked him out and fucking hell called him a stupid kid with no fucking brain at all. He growls as the sidewalk keeps on shifting highs, and suddenly allows cars to drive on it as well. He grabs around a lamppost to steady himself, the ground are fucking moving as was he walking on the water.

Jesus must have had a nice balance to be able to stand, yet alone to walk on the water.

"You know what, Osama? We two, us two aren't that far from eash other," he speaks to the face behind the window, the face buzzing, and texts shows underneath it as Osama speaks to the world. Sanji chuckles as he flattens his palms on the large window, staring into the many faces, showing many different faces, and then someone who was running. "No one actually really likes us. Whe gezz tould that they'd stand at our sithes, _sides_, but all in all," he flicks his fingers "They're all gone. Hehe, and then tehl, _they'll _hunt you down to torture you. No nice friends at all, don't you think so?"

Osama answered on Arabic. Sanji chuckled.

"Just my words, just my words,"

He reeled up some stairs, steps missing sometimes, or changed highs. He suddenly feels one of the steps crash into his head, making him seeing stars there's much clearer than the stairs he was supposed to walk on, and not laying on. His elbow hurts, he doesn't even remember why, but hell, he doesn't even care either.

Usopp suddenly stands beside him, helps him up. He knows it is Usopp, who else got such an unnatural long nose? He doesn't even listen to what he says, and suddenly he gets plumbed down into his sofa, or he think so it is his own.

"I thought Luffy told you not to drink?" the longnose says, arms crossed, looking oh so mommy's-really-disappointed-at-you-like… or something. Sanji snorts.

"Thought you'd never tell, longhouse, _nose_." Giggling instead of glaring, Usopp shakes his head at him, sighs and grabs a quilt to lie over his drunken friend. "Hey~, Zhoro~! Come here and warm me up a little, eh?" The blond suddenly says, throwing an arm up in the air as he sees the green-haired man standing in the corner, arms crossed just like Usopp's. "Warm a little shitty whore like me up, will ya? M'feeling pretty lonely tonight ash wellll. Hihihi! Oh, noh, Namish gonna come and spha-spank youh, righ?"

Usopp looks over his shoulder, looking the way the blond is looking, before said blond falls asleep, snoring loudly at first, before falling into a silent deep drunken sleep. He shakes his head and makes his way to the kitchen to grab the bucket and places it beside the blond, sleeping quietly on the sofa. "He's hallucinating again," he sighs, placing a glass of water on the sofa table together with some tablets of aspirins, and walks in to his own bed.

SL-SL-SL-SL

"This _is _pretty unusual, coming from you," Nami giggles as they cheers in wineglasses. She looks around the nice restaurant; it was one of the best restaurants in town, lying just underneath the famous Baratie Restaurant who hit all records. She'd like to go there again, but after all what had been happening recently, she only visits the place together with her friends. Zoro had clearly told her 'no' to following with her to that place, Nami never asked again, understanding clearly.

She sips from her glass and looks at the dinner colouring their table. Nice music is playing in the background; someone's playing **_Panorama Andantino_ on a piano and a violin.

"I honestly never thought that an oaf such as you liked these kind of _high-class-shit-places_," she teases him. Zoro looks down at his food as he mumbles in answer; it mostly looks like he's throwing a magical spell over his food, so it would suddenly start to dance, or something. "What was that?" she asks delicately, looking knowingly at him. She knows that he's up for _something_, but what it is, she doesn't know. Zoro had never been a fan of expensive restaurants; he only kept himself to the cheaper places, to bars or to fast-food places as Mc'Donald's and Burger King, or maybe a little nice restaurant down in China Town. They _did_ serve nice food at some places.

But back then when he was together with Sanji, the only food he ate was what had been created by those hands, even if it had been toasted bread or a nice little Clementine, had it just been in those hands at first, he ate it with no questions.

She didn't want to think about it, but anything there had to do with Zoro and food, the third _subject _and _that time _was hard not to think of as well. Those sweet times. Zoro spoke, but she didn't hear him.

"Sorry?" she said, honestly so. Zoro sighed, clearly displeased to repeat himself a third time too.

"I _said_; 'just thought that you should have a nice evening at a nice place,' that's all," he said, ears reddening just a little bit, meaning that even though the man tried to act cool, he was more than embarrassed, and honestly it looked kind of cute on him. Nami lifted a delicate brow.

"_That's all_?" she repeats, Zoro nods carefully. Aww he _is _embarrassed at something, and she can't help herself from giggling at the sweet sight. "Somuch _not_ like you," she says, points at him while holding a fork in her hand "usually you'll growl and huff and puff whenever I mention the word 'high-class restaurant," Zoro scowls at her as she eats her fish-thing.

"I don't 'huff and puff'!" she smiles at him.

"Yes you do! And beside;" she adds "it _does_ look cute on you." And there the face went extremely redder than before. She smiles in triumph. "No, honestly! You even tells me to find my nicest dress that I have, and then there's a large limousine awaiting us outside the house, ready to drive us wherever we want to, and then? Then we end up here in this glamorous place, and not some cheap restaurant down the corner. I mean; what's going on? It's more likely Sanji-style all this, than yours." the name alone makes the man sitting opposite her freeze, ears almost perks up.

"Is… that so…?" he whispers, almost not audible, as he eats his food, acting like it's a boring subject, but Nami knows better.

"Yes, and now we're at the subject, how come that you haven't been speaking with him ever since he returned back home?"

"Can't we speak of something else?" he says irritated, chewing on some weird nice-shit pork-thing that he thinks he has tasted before, but with much more flavour in it, and from a much better cook. He shivers as he realises _which _cook he's thinking at, _again._ '_Get out of my head, god damn it._'

"Mm, nho," she chews on her cooked catfish as well, and swallows "we can't! Wasn't he over at our place visiting you? Didn't the two of you talk?" Zoro's visibly paling, his eyes darts up at her as she mention _that _day. Though he tries to hide it, she can see it; the fear, the guilt in his eyes hiding behind his glasses. That idiot.

She knew it!

"So?" he asks, like he doesn't care. Nami's brow almost hits the hairline, damn he's stupid, and fucking _retarded_.

"For god's sake, his _jacket _laid hidden in the guestroom!" she points out, "even his scarf! Blood's have been on the step, so I can see that he hasn't gotten any nice greeting -sorry Zoro, but you're horrible in cleaning. There was a fingerprint on the doorframe with blood on it, which you hadn't seen. Second," she counts on her fingers, almost feels guilty at taking this discussion up now at all times, but, she _had _to say it, he _needed_ to hear it "Secondly, there's sheets in the hamper and the bed is nice tidied; I only shifted the sheets only the day before that day!"

"S-so? I didn't know that," Zoro tries to help himself, but knows it's futile.

"Of _course _you did!" She stands up and smacks her hands down onto the table. Peoples faces turns their way, she blushes and apologizes before she sits back down, rubbing her temple. "Look, Zoro," she says a lot more calmer "I know what happened back then, between the two of you, and-"

"It won't happen again," he suddenly mumbles in a deep voice, hands fidgeting with the napkin underneath the table.

"What?" she asks, honestly not heard him. He clears his throat, though he's still mumbling the words out.

"I said; It won't happen again, it was once," he says, looking straight into her eyes, serious, though his sad wounded eyes betrayed his voice, they were always like that; sad and empty, ever since the day she'd found him. No matter what she did to try cheer him up, make him happy, they never would return to their warm and friendly look, not like _back then._ Zoro had never been like Zoro since he lost the most important piece in his life, even though he never would said it, it was very clearly for those who always had known him "I promise; it will never happen again."

"Honestly, Zoro, don't you still-"

"_Excusez__-moi, __jeune madoimaselle._" –_**Excuse me, young Miss.**_ Zoro sighed in relieve as one of the waiters finally came and interrupted them.

"_Oui_?" -_**Yes? **_Nami loved to brag about her France that she could, though it wasn't much.

"_Êtes-vous prêt pour le dessert?_" –_**Are you ready for the dessert?**_

Nami smiled wide, giving him one of her most charming smiles. "_Oui, monsieur, nous le sommes__._" –**Yes, sir, we are.**

"_Merveilleux! __Voici pour vous__, mademoiselle._" –_**Wonderful! Here you go, Miss. **_The waiter said, placing the ice dessert down in front of her. Nami was almost beaming, Zoro smiled hopefully as he knew that it was her favourite with tangerine ice-cream, and nodded thankfully at the waiter, who winked back at him.

"_Merci, __merci beaucoup__, Monsieur!" –__**thank you, thank you very much, Sir!**_

The waiter only bowed, gave him a hidden 'good luck' before he disappeared out in the kitchen. Zoro felt his heart thumping hard inside of his chest. The moment she had started talking about Sanji and what they had done… he thought that he was done for. He didn't need to get those feelings back up again, it would only complex it all and make it even harder for him.

He watched as she ate her ice-dessert with the biggest pleasure in the world, until the spoon came up with what he had been waiting for her to find. Nami blinked and picked up the golden diamond ring out of her ice, then looked closer at it, before she looked wide eyed at him.

"Zoro, is this… what I think it is?" there was a freezing sensation in the pit of his stomach as she used _that _tone. Trying to act calm, he took the ring out of her hand, stood up to walk around their table, and kneeled at her side, looking up into her surprised eyes, ignoring his own trembling hands. He needed to success, just this time.

"It is. It is what you think it is, Nami, I…" Zoro stuttered, trying to kill the nervousness there kept growing the more she looked at him, so he hurried to slip it onto her finger "Will you ma-"

"No," she stopped him from putting the ring fully on her finger. Zoro froze, his whole world was tipping to one side. "No, Zoro," she says more calmly, levelling the trembling hand holding the ring.

"What…?" he asks, not daring to believe what he's hearing. He had done it all, all what he knew what she liked, everything what a woman would like, wasn't that good enough? Wasn't _he _good enough? Had his slip really ruined it all, his chance?

"Zoro," he doesn't like the way she's saying his name, he doesn't like the way she lays her hand on his, and looks into his eyes with _those _eyes, with _that _look. She reaches up to his face to take off his glasses, placing them on the table beside them. Zoro hadn't even realised that he still had been wearing those glasses until now. "Can't you see where you're standing right now?" he hates the way she speaks so pitifully to him, but he want, he _have _to…

"What do you mean?" he asks carefully, trying to feel if his heart still was there, since it suddenly had stopped beating. A 'no' couldn't kill a man… could it? "Am I not good enou-"

"It's not that, you jerk, and you know it. This isn't you. You've changed yourself ever since… _that day_, and it's gotten worse since Sanji returned back, and, I don't like that. It's not _the _Zoro that we all know off." She explains, irritated of that she can't explain herself correctly "It's not…_you_ to act like this… it's more like,"

"Sanji-style," he mumbles, he glances to the side, cursing the feeling of rejection growing inside of him again just… just like back then… but not as hard, not as painfully… weirdly enough, and it feels like the rejected feeling fades away faster than it should.

"Yes," she agrees, "and that's where you're standing right now." Zoro furrows his brows and looks weird up at her.

"What the heck do you mean, woman?"

'_**That's**__ the Zoro we all know of, and have missed so much_' she almost beams in joy in her mind, but keeps her calm face, still irritated at that the man can't read her mind. God, it would have been _so _much easier!

"That you're standing just at the same place as Sanji did almost a year ago." Zoro tries to think, but he doesn't remember anything like this happening for the cook. "I mean about the cheating-part," she points out in a whisper, as she can see that he still doesn't get what she's talking about. Immediately as she mentions it, Zoro pales once again. His heart is dead for sure, it's been still far too long.

"Look, I said that I-"

"And I'll guess that Sanji said just the same, back then." He's fully aware of what she's talking about. She sighs and runs her fingers through his hair. "No matter how much I would like to say 'yes', I don't want 'this' Zoro to stay, the Zoro who's unhappy all the time, who doesn't smile or gets angry like 'back then', who doesn't swallow his food and calls it shitty eating, when he really fully enjoys it. I don't want this Zoro who's acting completely like a boring snob-boy, who'll do whatever I tell you without complaining. You're not there. Not here," she says as she points at his heart. Zoro slowly starts to feel said heart beating again, somewhere deep inside of him, ah, so there _is_ still life in it. "I want _the _Zoro, who doesn't hide himself and who's not afraid of to show who he really deeply love, but only holds back for the sake of the one he loves. Why are you even doing this towards yourself? You know that you-"

"Nami, listen, I-"

"No, _you _listen when I'm speaking!"

"_No!_" he tries not to clench his fists or to raise his voice too much, he instead tries to act calm, though his insides are turning into a confused mess"_You_ don't get a shit about it; I'm too dangerous to him! I… it's not good for Sanji to be with me, never have been."

"And don't you think that he knows and doesn't care?"

Zoro halts before he can say anything else.

"He, as much as we others, knows about your… _past_, and that you're not proud of it. But you're _not _like _him_, you're _not him_. When will that ever get into your head? _If_ you had been –and that's not even _close _to a real _if_- do you really think that Sanji would have cared?"

"He'd just kicked the hell shit out of me, until I would get 'normal' again." Nami smiled, fully pleased to se a little smile quirk at the others lips, but not strong enough for it to stay there for long. "But that's no excuse, just one wrong hit –no, I'm too-"

Without a warning she hits him hard over the head, pleased to hear his almost none audible curses as he rubs his head. She doesn't want to hear this out-of-character-side of him speaking again. "You're an idiot, Zoro! A throughout stupid _idiot_! At least you had more brains before! Stop saying that you're this or that, and listen to what _I _got to say! You would _never _do that to him! Stop being such a hypocrite, and be that 'old' Zoro again. I want _him _back,_ the _Zoro who was happy as the one he was, who didn't care to be in a fight with the one he loved or was afraid of to give him some blue marks here and there –and get some back-, who didn't care about his own past, who didn't see himself as an option to become just as _near _as your stupid uncle! He was a fucked up bastard! You're _not_!" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of air. "Look," she said calmer than before, when people finally had turned their heads back to their own business, and the waiters, who nervously had watched in the background as they had become a bit too loud again, went back to their work. She ran her fingers through his thick soft hair; it was starting to get dark in the roots, almost a dark green. She'd known him back then when his hair was all black, then he tried to get it blond, instead it turned out green. Ever since he had made sure it stayed like that, but somehow it had damaged the roots so much it kept the almost natural green colour, so he didn't need to colour it any more. Chopper said that it was the chemicals in the homemade products from Usopp there'd _damaged _it. Though it had looked weird at first, Nami grew found of it. But now the darkness was slowly returning back. He needed another _damaging-_cure again soon.

"You have never been happy with me, Zoro, never _will _be. Sure you like me and this and that, and of course we've loved in the bed… but I will never be able to be a big enough replacement for _him_. You can only be happy with_,_ with someone that we _all _loves. You're not happy with me, and don't you dare trying to lie to me, 'cause I'm not as stupid as you are!"

Zoro growls as he looks down, thinking deeply.

"So, what you're saying, is…?"

"I love you Zoro, you know that I do, but," She removes her hand from his face and looks guilty away. Zoro furrows a brow.

"_But_?" he presses on, surprised that he feels more irritated than disappointed or hurt. Was he that cold that he didn't really care that much for her? No, there _was _still that little hurt feeling deep down there, somewhere.

"But I only want the best for you. Beside… I think that I'm in love in someone else as well,"

"What?" he says surprised, looking dumfounded at her.

Nami giggles nervously.

"Who?" She smiles sheepishly and somehow, he just knows who it is "Luffy?" the smile grows, her cheeks obtains a nice colour of red on them. How come that he somehow feels relieved at that information and not hurt? He glares at her, then suddenly madness grabs its hold of him, and he laughs out loud. He can't stop, he's just somehow so relieved and happy and then that feeling that he hadn't felt for so long wont let go of him again. His stomach even cramps, but he can't stop laughing, not before Nami presses her lips against his and silences him at once. He kisses her eagerly back and she open her mouth for him to enter. He loves her, but it's a kind of weird love, and he knows that she feels all the same to him. This is a 'goodbye', a one last time before they'll go away from each other, to be with those that their hearts belongs to.

The waiter from earlier had been watched them from the distance, misunderstands it all and throws a thumbs up up, wishing him 'congratulation'. Zoro smiles into the kiss, and he can feel that Nami's doing the same.

"I just want _one _last night with you, Zoro. That's all what I wish," she whispers with a seducing voice, as they parts to get air. Zoro smiles back.

"That's the best break-up I've ever had in my life," he whispers back. Nami smiles knowingly, remembering that the last time she broke up with him, was with her high heels planted right in the middle of his sacred jewels.

"Promise me to give Sanji a second chance, Zoro, he…really need it. _You _need it." The green-haired man sighs, his smile faltering just a little.

"Yeah, I know, but," she puts a finger to his lips.

"No 'but's, or I'll charge you for all of this,"

"I _did _actually pay for all of this, ya know,"

"Not _this, _the other _this_,"

Zoro thinks, then blushes, "Oi!"

"But, you know. I know how men can be when they're in the heat; primitive like sex-mad monkeys!"

"You know? Luffy doesn't even look like someone who'll go all gay," he said right after with a smirk, ignoring her side-remark. Nami, getting what he was saying, slaps him hard over the head.

"I am _not _a man, idiot! _You_ of all people should know that!" Zoro's smile only widens.

"Oh yes, I _do _know _that_ of all people,"

Nami hits him again, this time even harder than before. "You know what? I'll defiantly charge you for all of this!"

SL-SL-SL-SL

He's walking down the streets, never felt this good in what felt like years. It's in the middle of the night; he left Nami sleeping in the bed, kissing her goodbye before he left her. She smiled in her sleep, he would never forget that face of innocence, since it was far from what she was like on a daily basis. Normally a break-up should hurt, it should pain, but ever since they had their last sex together, their last bounds of love –or whatever you could call it- finally broke completely. And I didn't even hurt, instead Zoro's mood skyrocketed.

He was starting to run, he couldn't wait… he couldn't wait to see him again. He _needed _him back, the broken string was reaching out for him in the unknown, wherever he was, connected somehow and was pulling him harder towards him. the pulls getting stronger for each step he was taking. If just _he _wanted him back again, if just he hadn't damaged what they had, could have again, too much.

It was starting to rain; cold drops ran inside of his dark-green shirt, sending pleasurably shivers down his spine. His heart was beating, beaming with hope. He even could feel a smile forcing his lips up. The moment he had seen Sanji back then at Nami's house, he was full with joy. He had forgot about everything else around them the moment the blond had kissed him, and when they had sex, such wonderful sex there couldn't even be surpassed with any of those times he had with Nami. He forgotten and thought that they actually were back in that cabin, only the two of them. He had been so happy, he had wished that it all was true, but as he remembered again, he knew that he couldn't hurt Nami like this, not after all what she had done for him. He knew that she loved him, which was why he also had done everything to hide any traces of the blond ever had been there in the house.

But of course was the woman much smarter than it was healthy… but also more understandable, and willing to let go, thank god. She was… a good _friend._

He stops up and leans his elbows on his knees to catch his breath. The rain is close to soaking him, his lungs feels like they're burning from the hard push-on from running so fast. He looks up. There's a sound among the raindrops hammering down on the asphalt there catches his attention, a familiar sound. It's almost hard to see, since the rain has turned into a heavy carpet, but through the almost fog-like greyness, he sees a wobbling shadow moving clumsily up his way. At first he doesn't think much of it, just a drunkard on his way home, but then he recognises the drunken voice speaking to it self.

Nami _had_ 'warned' him about this, when they had come back home. She had told him about how the blond had become like, closed himself for anyone around him, barely ate, didn't care about anything, was even kicked out from the Baratie and just drank all the time, to forget, to remove the pain _he_ had caused him. Nami said that Luffy had told her, had wanted to talk with him, but since Zoro denied to have any conversation about the blond, even though the raven would turn all blue in the head from anger, he had talked about it with Nami, probably hoping that she then would tell him, and she. Sometimes the kid was much smarter than what was healthy. Those two would defiantly fit well with each other. Zoro had felt guilty, still did, he even wanted to run away at once to find him, but the red-haired woman had hurried to make him forget his self blame with her body and with her beauty, made him stay a little longer, made him feel better before he would meet up with _him_.

Sanji almost stumbles into a wall as he walks down the street, cursing under his breath he pushes himself from the wall and tries to catch his balance again, looking like someone who doesn't even remember which way is home.

It's a horrible sight, his insides cramps, hurts. It's a totally different person from what he'd grown so fond of, who he always had loved, still loved. Sanji wasn't _the _Sanji. He wasn't _the_ Sanji who always took well care of his looks, his hair and clothes. Who always smiled, cooked with joy, shared his talents with others. No. This person was nothing but a shadow of himself.

Was that what Nami had meant about him as well, as she said that he wasn't _he_?

Gasping for air, smiling confidently, he sets off down the road. He'll make him come back, even if it would cost him blood and sweat, even if he have to beat it into him or sit on his knees and beg, he would make the 'old Sanji' come back… just like Nami had helped him to 'come back' with her trusting personality and let him 'go' to come back to _him_.

"_Run Zoro," _she had whispered into his ear in the middle of their sex _"Run after him and get him back! Don't disappoint me again…!"_

So he did, he ran, as fast as he could, not away, not anymore, this time… he ran directly into his arms.

Sanji didn't even see what was coming before someone suddenly crashed right into him in high speed, grabbed around him and pressed their lips against his. Sanji stumbled surprised and in a split-second tries to push himself away from the weird attacker, but his fogged mind leans in, ignores every kind of healthy and sensible thinking. It had just barely recognized the face of the other and that familiar wet green hair, before he seconds later melts into that crunching longingly kiss. It was deep, and it was full with emotions, even in his drunken state of mind it was easily to point out each emotions in it. Closing his eyes and wrapping his own arms around the other man, he enjoys this sudden kiss, there felt just so much real.

"Mmm, this dream feels more real than the others," he whispers as they pulls apart what felt like years after, his voice raw from passion and the strong alcohol he had abused his throat with for such a long time, his heart beating slow but hard in his chest, almost ready to thump faster. He had have many of these kind of hallucinations, where Zoro would just suddenly stand there and kiss him, or fuck him against any surfaces, a dream so full with heated sex, that it always left him waking up with a painful hard on and a painful empty feeling inside.

But this… this didn't feel like the other times… because this time…

...he could feel it, more than anything, even more than he can feel his almost numb legs. The warm from the body, the soft touches to his face, that calloused hand pushing his rain-wet hair away from his eyes, and then _that _kiss.

There's a rumbling chuckle, and Sanji even fears that he must have collapsed somewhere on the streets and must have died and gone to heaven. He even can feel it as the body press itself flushed against his, there trembles along with the warming familiar laugher.

"It's because it _is _real, you fool."

He looks dazed up at the man in front of him, blinking the raindrops away from his eyelashes, then widens them as he sees that it surely _is_ no dream at all this time, but real.

"Z-Zoro?" he asks quietly, not daring to believe what he's seeing is true. Zoro rolls his eyes at him.

"No, it's the Santa Claus,"

Sanji blinks again, then smiles as he confirms that it isn't anything but pure good reality.

"Then Santa has come early this year, bringing me a nice gift." Zoro gives him a light kiss on the corner of his lips.

"Would you accept this crazy gift?" he asks, brushes the blond strands of hair behind one ear, just like he used to do back then, just like he used to do in his dreams. Sanji starts to doubt about the reality again. "Would you accept a lousy 'sorry' for being such a dork?" he whispers, nuzzling his nose against his. Sanji feels his heart thumping like it hadn't done for long, hot breath of air bathing his face, it's almost close to a love-make in the middle of the streets. He didn't care if he was dead, if just Zoro was there, then he didn't care about anything at all, because this was too good to be true. That doubt was gnawing at him again. But if it was real… then his life would have a meaning again.

Those hands behind his back, sneaking up underneath his drenched clothes, running up along his cold skin, and then those warm lips whispering over his skin, over his ear "Would you accept my second chance, Sanji?" that body against his, those hands touching him, that hand sneaking back out to get up and run through his hair, to cup his face "Would you, ever, forgive me?" it can't be anything but real, his beating heart are the one to point this straight out. That wonderful warm hand, he leans into the familiar feeling, the safeness of that hand. "Would you, give _me _a second chance?"

"Hmm, Dunno if I can," he says teasingly, smile widening to the point his white teeth's showing "Can I think about it?"

"I'll give you something to think about, _cook!_"Zoro growls with a smirk, hearing the teasing tone in the blonds' voice as well, before he 'attacks' him for real, and bites him in the neck. Sanji lets out a screaming girlish laugh –Zoro would never let him live down with it- and tumbles back with the man on top of him, more sober than ever. They lay there, gasping for air as they stares into each others eyes. Sanji runs his fingers up at the other's chin, seeing that he doesn't wear the glasses in the moment.

"It was _me_ who should have come running, asking for your forgiveness… not you, marimo."

"Hmm, doesn't matter," Zoro hums, enjoying those fingers on his skin "what matters is,"

Sanji looks weirdly at him as he suddenly halts "Marimo, you've just stopped in the middle of a sentence."

Chuckling, feeling it rumble through the others chest, Zoro takes his hand and kisses his fingers. "Wanna marry me?" Sanji blinks, then chuckles and pulls him into a deep kiss, arms wrapped around the other's neck. As they pull apart, Zoro smiles knowingly. "Was that a 'yes'?"

"Want to 'hear' it again, _dork_?"

"Mmm, I think I want a repeat of that sentence again," Zoro hums, eyes glazed with desire for his wonderful blond, said blond having the same expressions in his ocean blue eyes, as he pulls him into yet another deep kiss. Both not caring about that they're in the middle of an open street, laying on the sidewalk, two men kissing, not giving a damn in the world around them.

**~The End~**

_Love isn't an easy thing_

_But if you keep on believing at it, it'll repay you back... somehow, somewhen_

_**A/N:Hope that you all liked this story, and this ending of it. Please do Review & Review! Have a nice 1. **__**May everyone! ^c^**_

_**Note;**_

*_ An 'olfert' is a very painful teasing-method –dunno what your name for this "treatment" are? But, getting to the place where the skin is most sensitive and thin, and then twisting the skin in that area. Folks, I tell you; it's damn hell painful! Do NOT do this against anyone else… unless you want an early dearth! XD_

_** 'Panorama Andantino' is a part from the ballet 'Dornröschen op. 66a (Sleeping Beauty)_


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